Ties
by realitypill
Summary: AU. Sasuke, Naruto, and their gang are hired as security agents for a bulding that controls a nuclear satellite. The very bulding is targeted by the Akatsuki, Itachi's former gang, and Gaara's yakuza, the Sand, Sasuke's rival in his high school years.
1. SNS

**A/N**: First of all, don't hit the Back button, please. I came out of my writer's block few weeks ago, and I lessened the romance category and turned to action. I also started lessening details in my stories, since my first fanfic had too many of them and I think that bored the readers.

**Disclaimer**: Yeah I'm Masashi Kishimoto. No doubt about it.

Hell no of course I'm **not** Masashi Kishimoto.

--

**_Chapter 1: SNS_**

"So, you are telling me that the SNS is located in Tokyo?" Gaara asked. Three silhouetted figures were present in a dark room, one sitting down in a chair while the other two were standing in front of him. Gaara, the one sitting down, looked the youngest.

"That's what I've been told, according to our most reliable sources," the other replied, named Kankuro, his brother.

"And what's the security level like?"

A third voice spoke, this time more feminine, "Tough. Uchiha is guarding the whole building, and I hear that sharpshooters with sniper rifles are stationed around it 24/7. Almost like a catch-22."

"Of course, I would have expected no less from the Uchiha, although I expected the location to be more subtle. Is there any way to hack their security system?"

"No, our computer agents can't match the anti-virus in the building," replied Temari.

"But," Kankuro stated with a smirk. "We do have an advantage. The Uchiha doesn't know that we know of the SNS or their location. So they won't be expecting an attack from us."

Gaara was playing with a handful of sand that was for some reason floating in air. He swiftly moved the tiny particles in his hand, thinking. "I think I can get rid of the snipers," he said as he ossified the sand in his hand, "but what we need to worry about are the infamous agents that roam the building, especially Sasuke Uchiha and his gang.

"I kill the snipers with this," he said, crushing the hardened sand, "and put our men to set off the alarm and create a distraction. That'll be enough time for the three of us to get into the main system, but we won't have enough time to take control. Our goal is to collect as much information as we can; see if there's a fault. Nothing more."

"But," retorted Kankuro, "how will we get out of there once we're in?

Gaara's smirk grew wider. "I have my ways, you should know that."

"But," Temari said, "if we run into Sasuke Uchiha's gang, it would be hard to get them off our backs."

"Are you underestimating my abilities?" Gaara asked as he scowled.

"No," Temari said calmly, "I have no doubt in your abilities, Gaara, but I should warn you that they aren't to be underestimated, either"

"I know that for myself," replied Gaara with finality. Temari and Kankuro slowly left, leaving Gaara alone to think.

_Uchiha, if you weren't born this would've been a lot easier…_

He was wrong.

--

Ten dark figures emerged into a dark room. It was a strange place, and their footsteps were being echoed across. They came in pairs of two, but all were wearing dark and long, cloak-like uniforms with red clouds on them. The members of the Akatsuki all stopped suddenly, facing each other in the center.

A shark-like man spoke up, "It's been a while since we all met like this." Others nodded, all looking at Pain, the leader.

"Zetsu, you must have information since this meeting was called by you," said Pain, looking at a man with a shell around his body, its outer surface like an alligator's teeth. One side of his face was black, while the other was white.

"Ah, yes, I've found out that the Sky Nuclear System was developed very recently. It's located on a building in Tokyo, top security. They're guarded by top agents such as Sasuke Uchiha, which means they have the 2 eye techniques out of 3. I also learned that the Sand are also aware of this and is planning to seize it."

"Those Sand fools," muttered a snake-like man, named Orochimaru. "They think they can take on the Uchiha gang by themselves?"

"The Sand and the Uchiha are our enemies," said Pain calmly. "The Sand is trying to seize it so they can start a nuclear war with the world. The Uchiha, on the other hand, is protecting it and is too scared to use it. But our goal is world peace. We must take control of the SNS and be the dependent medium in the world; our goal is to get rid of any nation who tries to break the peace. The UN is also corrupted, and they'll start collapsing soon. Any nation who tries to raise war must feel the pain of what they're doing. You all know this."

"So what are we to do?" asked Deidara, the explosives master. "Bomb the whole building?"

"No, first we sit back and watch the Sand fail. Then, we kill influential members of the Sand and the Japanese government. Lastly we raid the core of SNS, and kill anyone who objects our causes. The Uchiha, however, are to be influenced if possible."

"How bad is the security, Zetsu?" asked Sasori, who didn't look quite human.

"It could be better. The government-based protection is a joke, Konan or I could easily get through it. What we need to worry about is Sasuke Uchiha and his brother Itachi, and also his gang. They have the Sharingan as well as the Byakugan, which are tough to get through. Itachi, as you all know, was a former member here and his strength matches ours."

"And I'm assuming they also have my old friends?" asked Orochimaru, his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, they have two of the Sannins working with them." replied Zetsu. "I've noticed that one of them, Jiraiya, is trying to get information on us recently."

At the sound of the name, Pain's eyes became cold. "He's going to get what he deserves if he keeps stepping over the line…"

"Well, what do we have to do in the meantime, Leader?" asked a masked Kakuzu, beside his partner Hidan.

"Kakuzu, you and Hidan destroy nuclear projects that are going on in different nations. I can't have them interfere. Orochimaru and Zetsu, you are to kill members of our government, and leave no traces behind. Deidara and Sasori, destroy the Sand's headquarters and their secret meeting places if you can find them. If possible, kill all their men and their leader. Kisame and Tobi, you guys are to observe Sasuke Uchiha and his brother's weak points. _Any_ weak points; we might have to use them to get them on our side…"

"What about us, Pain?" asked the only female, named Konan. She had an origami flower attached to her hair.

"You and I try to collect information of SNS after the Sand have failed. If we have enough information, we'll infiltrate through it.

"Remember," reminded Pain. "Our goal is world domination of peace. Any nation foolish enough to stand against us will perish."

And they went on their separate ways, leaving the dark room behind. A cold chill spread around the room once they left. As much darkness filled the room.

--

A presentation was going on inside the SNS building. The CEO and co-founder of Sky Nuclear System (SNS) was talking on and on about the benefits of SNS and why it should be developed and continued. His voice could be heard sonorously: "The USA have been arrogant of their achievements in 1945, when they launched two atomic bombs in our cities. They have reasoned that to ensure security, nuclear projects must be banned and could not be continued unless within the States. It gives them too much power, and it violates international balance between…"

Outside the main door, two men around late teens were leaning against a wall, sipping coffee. One had blond hair, and a frown was on his face. The other one was a bit taller, with raven hair and dark, onyx eyes. His face was expressionless.

"Give me one reason why that old fart is giving a presentation five in the morning and I have to listen to him?" asked Naruto, yawning.

"Because," replied Sasuke coolly. "We are the security agents, we get paid for it."

"Why did our gang have to take this job?" complained Naruto. "We already have enough money."

"My dad had to get close to the CEO of SNS when it was created, and this was the only way. You know how he is; he disagrees with the opinionated fact that SNS is for mutual protection. He thinks that SNS-"

"-will destroy the world instead of protecting it." Naruto finished, waving his hand. "Yeah, yeah, you've said that for about a million times. What I didn't know was that we had to wake up at dawn, on a _Sunday_."

"What's the difference?"

"Dude, it's the day to respect God!"

"Since when were you religious?" asked Sasuke, amused. Naruto's complaints were understandable, since he also was not fond of waking up at three-thirty in the morning on weekends. Unfortunately for Naruto's sleeping needs, the government had heard of his gang's skills and decided to use them to protect the SNS against infiltration by treasonous enemies.

"I never was!" said Naruto, pouting. "But the government shouldn't have hired a yakuza. It takes all the fun of being one." Sighing, he ran his hands down his jeans, fumbling his hands through it. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he looked up at Sasuke. "Shoot, I forgot to bring my gun. Sasuke, pass me yours, I need to shoot the guy that's talkin' right now."

"And get arrested? No, I don't think so."

"But I don't want to work 24/7 without any sleep!"

At that moment, a man with shaggy hair entered the hall, walking toward them. By his side was a huge, white dog. Kiba, patting Akamaru, lazily leaned on the opposite wall. "Stop complaining Naruto, I've heard enough of your whining."

"Oh? So you're defending the faggot's policies?" Naruto retaliated.

"There _is_ one good thing about him," pointed Kiba, his lips forming a smile.

"What would that be? The fact that he's gay and you finally found an equal?"

Kiba glared at him. "No, I happen to be stationed right outside his daughter's room. And she happens to be really hot. And her friends come over like everyday, so I get to-"

"How old are they, twelve? Then I'm not interested, 'cause I'm not into incest like you, Kiba."

"I am not a perverted pimp, Naruto. They happen to be around our age!" Naruto made more comebacks, annoying Kiba one after another.

Sasuke looked at them, rubbing his temple in frustration. He was getting bored of his job; acting like a middle school security guard was not that fun. He was more used to the more fun side of life, not enforce security. His father, who strongly disapproved of the SNS, was having no luck convincing the government to ban the system.

SNS, created by the top atomic scientists in the world, could destroy an entire nation within minutes. Japan had launched a weaponry satellite into space, and the main system that controlled the SNS was in the building. With a code known only to the creators of SNS, the satellite could launch missile-based atomic bombs at any spot on Earth. It was carefully controlled so that Earth's rotation would not affect the landing. The government approved of the SNS and had given permission to continue as long as there was top security around the building. It was a "military necessity," they had said, "a mutual protection for all nations and humanity."

"I'm straight!" Kiba yelled, his face becoming red with fury. "How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Really?" sneered Naruto, crossing his arms. "Then tell me, is Sasuke a good looking guy?"

"W-what?" stuttered Kiba, who didn't expect this kind of a question. He looked around at Sasuke, who was looking at the two, his face yet expressionless.

"Well, he's not _bad-looking_, I can see that mu-"

"So you _are_ gay, Kiba. All this time you didn't tell me…" Naruto smirked, enjoying the situation. "I happen to think that Sasuke is an ugly, twisted, nerdy freak because _I_ am straight, unlike-"

Naruto didn't get to finish the sentence at the vein popping out of Sasuke's head. He was next met by Sasuke's fist, directly in the face. Naruto yelled in pain, clutching his face as he fell.

"Shut up, Naruto, it's getting annoying." Sasuke said coolly, while Kiba tried to muffle his laughter. Akamaru barked playfully, licking Naruto in the face.

"Geroffme, Akamaru," said Naruto as he tried to get up. "Kiba, you seriously need a leash-"

"Shh!" Sasuke suddenly narrowed his eyes, as if he could sense something the others didn't. "Didn't you hear it?

"Hear what?" asked Naruto, not yet alert. "All I can hear is the kee-oh (CEO) talking in the conference room."

Akamaru barked several times, and Kiba was trying to get a scent. He sniffed the air, frowning.

"What do you smell, doggy?" asked Naruto, earning a glare.

"I smell chemicals, chemicals from…explosives."

Suddenly they felt a jab in their transceivers as Shikamaru's voice spoke up. Shikamaru was the brain of the gang, and he was being stationed near the entrance.

"You guys there?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah, what happened, Shikamaru?" asked Naruto. "Something interesting happened?"

"Some guys bombed the back entrance, and dozens of them are attacking us right now. They aren't the best fighters, I think, so it's just a distraction. Naruto and Kiba, you guys patrol the elevators and the stairs just in case. I'm sending Shino and Lee to the fifteenth floor, that's the middle point. I already told Itachi, so Sasuke, you and Itachi head toward the SNS Controls Quarter, that's the thirtieth floor. Neji and I'll handle the entrance." The connection broke as they heard several gunshots.

"Shit," Naruto swore. "I didn't bring my-"

"Here," said Sasuke, tossing his handguns. "It's loaded." He started to turn, heading for the elevators.

"But," said Naruto worriedly, checking the magazine if it was loaded. "Won't you need it?"

"No, I can handle it without that," replied Sasuke as he started running. He turned left, the way Kiba had come from before, and headed toward the elevators. Unfortunately, the elevator was on hold, stationed at the fourth floor. "Fuck."

He ran toward the stairs at the end of the corridor, turning rapidly as he opened the door, which marked the seventeenth floor. Jumping five stairs at once, Sasuke continued his pace until he reached his destination floor. Opening the thirtieth door, he cautiously stepped into the hallway. It was dead quiet.

He started slowly walking across the hall, catching his breath silently. Every step he took was being echoed across. Sasuke tried to hear any distinct sounds, but he couldn't sense any presence around him. He stopped when-

"Freeze!" shouted a familiar voice. Sasuke could tell a gun was pointing at his back.

"Geez, Itachi," said Sasuke calmly. "Can't you tell it's your own brother?"

Itachi lowered his gun, trying to confirm if Sasuke was real. When he did, he straightened and walked beside Sasuke.

"How'd you do that?" asked Sasuke. "I couldn't sense you behind me."

Itachi chuckled. "You'd have to do better than that, little bro. If you activated the Sharingan then you might have sensed me a lot faster. Anyway, find anything yet?"

"No, it's dead quiet here. Weird, isn't it?"

"Not as weird as the fact that you're unarmed. You could get killed instantly without your eyes." Itachi said, taking out a katana. "Here, this should be enough for you." Sasuke took the sword from him and together they started pacing up before turning right. When they reached a fork Itachi put up his shoulder, blocking him from going any further.

"Stop," he said. "I can tell there are laser beams here. Better activate your Sharingan, Sasuke."

Sasuke did so as he was told. His onyx eyes suddenly turned sanguine red, with three sets of dots on them. As he did so, he could sense laser beams that were blocking the path, and he could sense Itachi standing right beside him without looking. "So… we have to guard this place?"

Itachi nodded, and together they turned around, guarded. They stood there in silence for half an hour and they both had deactivated their Sharingan to preserve their energy, which would be consumed at a rapid rate if it had been activated. Sasuke, getting bored, lowered his guard and leaned against the wall, running his hand through his raven hair. "This is stupid."

"Don't let your guard down, Sasuke," said Itachi, although he himself sounded bored. "The enemy could be-"

CRASH. Suddenly there was a booming noise right under the floor they were standing on. It continued for several seconds until a scream could be heard. They could hear something being thrown against the iron wall, as if there was a battle going on.

"What was that?"

"Sounded like an avalanche," replied Sasuke, suddenly alert and activating his Sharingan. He raised his katana, trying to hear footsteps. There were none, just the noise under him. "Should we go help them?"

"No," said Itachi. "It might be a trap to get us out of the way. We should remain here."

For several minutes, nothing could be heard. Sasuke could sense something creeping across the floor for a moment or so, but he wasn't sure what it was. He could smell it, too, but he convinced himself that it must have been his imagination. That was until Itachi coughed, gagging several moments later.

"I-I can't b-breath," he coughed. Sasuke could also feel the effect on him: it was hard to breathe. They looked at each other, and they both started running at a rapid speed toward where they had come from, seeking refuge. They turned and skidded to a halt, catching their breath. Itachi sucked up a huge amount of air, still coughing. This hall was full of oxygen, while the other had been contaminated with-

"Sand," said Sasuke. "I can taste sand." Itachi stopped coughing and straightened himself. Sasuke looked at him amusedly.

"Bro, you gotta stop smoking. It's already having an effect on you," said Sasuke.

"It's hard to quit once you start it, Sasuke. Maybe you should try it and tell me how _easy_ it is," snapped Itachi, activating his Sharingan and taking out his gun. He pointed it at the empty hallway, ready to fire in case someone entered it. He took out several kunai knives and tossed them to Sasuke, who caught them without risking a glance. "You'd better remember how to throw knives," he said, reminiscing the times that he had taught Sasuke to throw shurikens and kunai knives.

"I couldn't forget-"

"Well, well," sneered a voice behind them. "I didn't realize the Uchiha brothers had become _this_ pathetic over the years." Guns were clicked into place, and Sasuke could sense them pointed at his head.

"Shit," Itachi muttered.

--

**A/N**: I'll probably update as soon as I get some reviews, because I think the first chapter isn't enough to hook anyone. I'd really appreciate reviews, since that's one of the motivations to write. I also like constructive criticisms so tell me if I should fix anything. If you have suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them.

Next chapter is longer and goes more into it, so leave a review.


	2. Gaara

**A/N**: Alright thanks for Niami for the long long review, I enjoyed reading it. So I've said this chapter was longer, but I cut it in half and stopped idolizing 500k plus worded stories that are not even finished yet.

Okay, let's continue the story. 'Nuff said.

**Disclaimer**: Maybe when I rule the world.

--

_**Chapter 2: Gaara**_

By the time Sasuke had reached the thirtieth floor, Naruto and Kiba entered the fifteenth floor as the elevator opened. They were met by Shino and Lee; Shino was a bug master who could control them to his willing, while Lee was very efficient in hand to hand combat. However, both were armed with assault rifles and hand guns.

"Dude, pass me your rifle," said Naruto to Shino, who did as he was told. Naruto tried to catch it, yet it slipped from him and landed on his foot. Naruto yelled in pain, clutching his foot this time.

"Butter fingers," muttered Kiba.

"Hey!" yelled Naruto.

Lee picked the rifle up and handed it to Nartuo. "Naruto-san, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

Shino straightened his shades and said, "Alright guys, no more fooling around, it's time to get serious. Shikamaru swore that he saw a trio escaping up the stairs, They probably haven't reached this floor yet, so we're gonna plan a counterattack on them. Just in case they try to use the elevators, Kiba you wait out here, near the elevators. Kill them if they enter this spot. Me, Naruto, and Lee are gonna station ourselves on the stairs."

"Shino, we're gonna get killed if we do that!" complained Naruto,

"Not if we shoot first from above," said Shino. "I'll send my bugs down there so we can be alert if they are coming toward us."

Naruto, Shino, and Lee entered the stairs. Naruto reluctantly positioned himself on the stairs as Shino had directed him to, and Lee positioned himself a little above Naruto as he loaded his gun. Shino, on the other hand, remained standing, pointing his rifle down the stairs.

"Shino," hissed Naruto, looking at him suspiciously. "Are you gonna commit suicide or something?"

"No, but someone has to take the front line," he replied. A few seconds passed by. Then a few moments, and then a few minutes without any sign of footsteps coming up the stairs. Shino frowned, aware that the enemy should have arrived by now, despite the fact that his bugs hadn't notified him of any signs of the enemy.

The door beside them suddenly opened, and all three men pointed their guns at the intruder, ready to fire.

"I-It's me," said Kiba as he tried to catch his breath from running. "T-They've taken the elevator from the fourth floor. I think they're heading toward the twenty-fifth, that's where the elevator ends. They'll have to take the stairs from there so-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Naruto, Lee, and Shino all swore and climbed up the stairs toward the twenty-fifth floor. Kiba was left behind, still catching his breath. "F-fine," he stuttered, holding onto the door handle for support. "You guys go on without me."

Akamaru entered the stairs, looking excited and barking several times when he saw Kiba. Kiba looked at Akamaru gleefully, "I think I need a ride, Akamaru…"

As Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari entered the elevator from the fourth floor, the former stated, "That was way too easy." The elevator went up at a slow rate, frustrating Gaara. He kicked the door every so often, swearing. "What the hell is wrong with this elevator?" he half-shouted, livid at the slow speed. "For a building that has top security, the elevator is going _really_ fast."

Shino entered a room full of weapons on the twenty-fifth floor as the automatic door slid smoothly as it confirmed Shino's identity. Shino quickly came out with a-

"Bazooka?" Naruto said unbelievably. "Are you insane, Shino? That thing could burn down the whole building!"

Shino shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Our job is to protect the building from enemy trespass and ambush, so who cares if I burn down the whole floor?" He got on his stomach and positioned himself to fire across the hall, toward the elevators. He inserted the rockets as the rest of the group pointed their guns to the same direction. Few seconds later, the elevator ringed, and three indistinct figures came out of it. Shino pulled the trigger, and the rocket soared toward the trio on the other side. "Booya!"

BOOM. Naruto, Lee, and Kiba (who had arrived few moments before) started shooting through the smoke. When they finished and the smoke cleared, they expected Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro to be dead and burned. What they got instead was a monstrous whirlwind that knocked them out of their positions and deeply cut their skin.

"What the fuck?" shouted Naruto, taking out his hand gun and firing at the three figures that were approaching them. The bullets shot toward the shortest person in the middle, but it suddenly stopped and dropped to the floor, producing a _clink_.

"Naruto-san," said Lee, getting up. "Guns are useless now, they aren't normal people. It's time for serious combat." With that, Lee started running toward Gaara, but only to receive a tornado-like wind that sent him soaring to the opposite wall. There was a sickening crush as his body hit the wall.

The one who was making the blows was Temari, holding a giant, iron fan. She muttered, "I didn't know they were this easy…" as she sent Naruto, Shino, and Kiba flying like she had Lee. Gaara, smirking, brought out his sand out of his gourd, the sand making a noise that gave Naruto and the others creeps.

"Tell you what," Gaara sneered. "I'll spare your lives if you don't interfere with us. Or else…" With that he sent a massive amount of sand waterfall falling down on the four, plus Akamaru. The four got up quickly, brushing out the sand and coughing.

"Never!" shouted Naruto as he threw a set of kunai knives toward Kankuro, only to have it blocked by the giant fan of Temari's.

"Gaara, you shouldn't waste your energy on these losers," Kankuro said, as he took out a bandaged lump that was on his back. "I'll take care of them. You guys go on before back-ups arrive." He took out the bandage and revealed a human-sized puppet. As he sent it flying toward the four, Temari hopped on her fan and glided across the room as Gaara slid on his sand, traveling across the room rapidly. Temari sent another blow as she hopped off, catching Naruto and the others off-guard. She and Gaara entered the stairs as Kankuro took over them.

"You guys follow them!" Shino shouted as he threw a kick at the puppet. "I'll handle this guy!" He shielded a dagger coming at him by extending an arm of bugs. At his words, Naruto, Lee, and Kiba hopped onto Akamaru, whose legs buckled a bit as he considered the weight.

"C'mon, Akamaru," urged Kiba. "We gotta catch up to them." Akamaru entered the stairs, and hopped at a great speed. They could see Gaara and Temari already headed toward the twenty-eighth floor. The three gained speed and was right behind them-

"Gotcha!" Naruto shouted as he jumped on Temari, knocking her and sending them both to the twenty-eighth floor. Kiba directed Akamaru to the spot as Gaara took a glance back and continued climbing up. Lee, noticing this, was right behind him, gaining speed. He suddenly seemed to disappear, and a second later, he reappeared right in front of Gaara. Gaara backed up as Lee aimed kick at him, forcing him to retreat to the twenty-ninth floor.

"You shouldn't try unlawful stealth, whoever you are," said Lee as Gaara regained his composure.

"No shit," Gaara said as he smirked. _I might enjoy this…_

"Tokyo whirlwind!" Lee shouted as he aimed a three-sixty kick at the other. He was blocked by a wall of sand that appeared in front of Gaara. Lee started a series of kicks and punches of his own creation. A normal person would have been overwhelmed; however, every punch and kick was blocked by a wall of sand. Lee jumped back as it made a grab for him. He grimaced.

"Is that all?" Gaara asked contemptuously, though his thoughts weren't as sure as he put it into words. _Damn it, I'm already losing some of my energy… Better take care of this one fast…_

Lee didn't seem offended a bit, but he clashed with Gaara, appearing right in front of him. As he punched he was met by another wall of sand, but he suddenly reappeared behind Gaara, his kick aimed at his head. The kick was blocked again, yet Lee threw another one as he reappeared to the side. Lee, mocking Gaara's sand, landed a punch on Gaara's neck. Gaara winced, falling back.

Lee, not wasting a second, was right behind the falling Gaara as he kicked him, sending Gaara flying across the hall. He hit the floor hard, yet there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lee, not noticing, advanced on him quickly like he had done before. Before he realized it, he stepped on—sand.

His bushy brows quivered, suddenly alert to the newfound contact. The arm of sand gradually extended on his left arm and leg, paralyzing them. _Damnit!_

Gaara, making a hand gesture, shouted something that Lee found incoherent. It was clear, yet he couldn't hear due to the pain… it was as if every cell in his body was being crushed one by one, as if hot knives were piercing every inch of him. Such crushing pain… pain... That was what was in his mind when Lee finally fainted.

Gaara headed toward the last floor as Temari caught up with him. Gaara could use his sand only for a small amount of time, and he already had used most of it. He was getting tired, but he risked contaminating the other halls with his sand. The two stationed themselves near a window, waiting to see if any guards would come out. He smirked when he saw two figures halting in front of them, their backs turned.

--

Itachi threw something small to the ground, where it caused a FLASH. Sasuke had to turn back as the incendiary flash was glowing too brightly for his eyes to remain functional. The two regained their positions, taking advantage of the 5 second distraction.

Itachi, grinning, said, "Flash grenades."

Sasuke shook his head unbelievably as they shot their guns at the intruders. When their eyes adjusted, they saw that all the bullets were blocked by a giant fan with three circles on them. Sasuke, recognizing the intruders' defense system and their intentions on offensive attacks, due to his Sharingan, smirked. He smirk, being a trademark, was witnessed by Itachi, who understood right away. Sasuke appeared behind the intruders, who appeared to be a man and a woman. He knocked the woman out before she could respond, hitting the pressure point on her neck. At the same time, he slashed his katana at the man's back. The red-headed man winced as he felt the metal going through his skin, falling back as Itachi cornered him. Itachi pointed his gun at Gaara's head.

"Well, well," Gaara yet sneered. "I see the Uchihas still have potential."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he finally recognized the man's voice. He had met this man before.

"Familiar face, Sasuke?" asked Itachi, observing Sasuke's look.

"High school," muttered Sasuke.

Gaara chuckled. "That's right… Your gang dominated us, of course, for the most part. You had potential, Uchiha, but you chose to take this path? Guarding a building like a slave?" He looked around contemptuously around the building. "Well, I certainly expected more from you… We'll meet again, Uchiha." He smirked evily.

"Woa, woa, can't you see there's no escape route?" Itachi asked hastily.

"Is there?" With that, Gaara's face began to crumble into sand, slowly depositing to the ground. Itachi stared at it.

"What the hell-"he began-

He stopped when they heard a noise behind them as Gaara picked the limp body of Temari up and ran toward the nearest window. The window, not being bullet proof, scattered into pieces as Gaara threw sediment balls of sand at it. Itachi made a movement, but only to be stopped by Sasuke.

"What?" said Itachi urgently, irritated.

"It's a trap," Sasuke said, nodding toward the sand that was behind Gaara. "If you approach him, you'll get crushed by them." Itachi frowned.

"So it's unbeatable?" asked Itachi.

"No, it'll be easy to surpass it once you're in your death mode. But it'll take a lot to get you in your killer mode, eh, Itachi?" Sasuke asked teasingly.

Itachi spat the sand out of his mouth. Sighing, he put his hand behind his head as Gaara jumped out of the window. "What are the odds that that bastard will die of fright?" He reloaded his gun and tried a shot. It was blocked by sand.

The sand began to follow suit with Gaara. Sasuke threw a set of kunai kives, implanted with bombs, at Gaara with supernatural speed. The bomb exploded as Gaara disappeared. "Slim to none, brother."

--

_Few hours later._

The whole team of security agents was in a lounge, some sitting in couches, some on tables, and some of them standing. Most of them had minor injuries, and some had bandages on their extremities. Shino, Kiba, and Naruto were lying in a long couch, the former severely bandaged in his right arm. Neji, Shikamaru, and Choji (who was hired due to recommendation by Shikamaru) were all sitting on comfy chairs, the latter munching on some potato chips. Sasuke, Itachi and his best friend Shisui were all standing in the room, their faces grave. Kakashi, standing by Naruto, was reading a mini book. His long time rival, Gai, was looking graver than anyone else. Beside them was Asuma, staring out the window.

Naruto, lying down on his back, was reading a Maxim magazine, focusing only on the pictures. Getting annoyed by Choji's crunching noises, he made an airplane out of the magazine paper. He threw a Maria Sharapova at him, the plane soaring swiftly before poking Choji in the eye. "Ouch!"

As Naruto sniggered, Kakashi looked up from _Icha Icha Paradise_ (by Jiraiya) boredly and knocked Naruto in the head. "Stop fooling around."

Naruto made a face, looking up at his former teacher. "Kakashi-sensei, I didn't know you were into this stuff. You were our health teacher in our junior year, for God's sake. I bet you loved teaching us about human reproduction, a.k.a. sex, and making us do CPR on bunch of-"

Kakashi gave him a look, which stopped Naruto for a moment. Then he rambled on, "And Gai-sensei was our gym teacher. Man, he used to make us do ten laps around the field if we talked during his famous lectures, and-"

Kakashi gave Naruto yet another look, silencing him for a second. Then he rambled on again, "Asuma-sensei was our biology teacher. He used to give me detention when I threw Playboy pages at him. Although I think women can be considered biology because-"

Naruto was interrupted as a door opened by the lounge, a certain blonde woman walking toward them. She had an air of authority, and there was a serious look on her face. Gai immediately stood up, hastily saying, "How is he, Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh my god!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at Tsunade. "She was our mean nurse at school! Damn, she used to throw ice packs at us when we-"

This time Kiba punched him in the head.

Tsunade, barely glancing at Naruto, answered Gai. "Not pretty, Gai. His left arm and leg is damaged far beyond repair. Something crushed it, though I can't imagine what. But the report states that the gang Sand infiltrated us today, so I can only say that the leader of the Sand has some deadly techniques. He might have been a Formidable."

"So… there's no way to fix him, Tsunade-sama?" asked Gai, his heart sinking.

Tsunade grimaced, and said, "I can perform a surgery on him if I collect enough information of the damage. I can't be sure of the success rate, though. I'll try my best, Gai." She put her hand on his shoulder. After a few moments, she walked back to the door she had come from, leaving them in the lounge.

"A Formidable?" asked Naruto, disbelieving. "But there are only three of them in the whole entire world! Those are people with some crazy skills, right?" He looked around at everyone in the room.

"Naruto," said Kiba, annoyed. "Even a five year old knows that. Stop asking the obvious."

Naruto sulked. The main entrance to the lounge slid aside as an old man, his face rather expressionless, walked into view. He had long, silver hair, and a headband attached to his forehead. He walked toward them, stopped, and was about to perform his signature pose when-

"Holy shit!" shouted Naruto, his jaws dropping. "That's the teacher that taught us sex education with Kakashi-sensei! What's his name—oh yeah—Ero-sennin!" Jiraiya missed a step.

Kakashi's eyes widened, pushed aside Naruto carelessly and walked up to him, shaking Jiraiya's hand. "Jiraiya-sama, this is such a pleasant surprise!" He turned toward all the others, clearing his throat. "Kids, this is the legendary bestseller Jiraiya-sama, author of the _Icha Icha Paradise_ series, a fully licensed sex-ed professor having worked with me previously, and the legendary director and producer of _Icha Icha Paradise: The Movie_."

The others' sweat dropped, staring at them as if it was a joke. Most of them stood up or turned to leave, probably heading toward their rooms. They had had a hard day, and some of them were up for a rest. After the room cleared, the only remaining persons were Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, and Kakashi and Jiraiya. Naruto was playing with his fingers; Kiba was heading toward the table of wonders (snack table). Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui were still standing. Jiraiya, disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm in his arrival, cleared his throat.

"Alright, I have some business to take care of with Tsunade." He started walking toward the other door. He stopped suddenly and turned around. "By the way, the security manager wants to see the five of you. They don't need Kiba though."

"WHAT?" shouted Naruto, throwing his hands up. "But I'm damn tired! And I bet Kiba wants to go, so have him-"

"No way, man!" shouted Kiba, enjoying his freetime. "These are the best chips ever…" He went on eating.

"That security manager is in the main office, first floor. Good luck." Jiraiya exited lounge.

Kakashi, Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, and Naruto reluctantly exited the lounge themselves, heading toward the elevators. Naruto kept complaining on the way, calling the security manager a lot of names that made Kakashi punch him in the head. "That piece of shit wants to talk to us after we protected him? What does _it_ want anyway?" He asked as the elevator door opened and they all got in. Kakashi pressed One, and the elevator started going down. It stopped at the third floor, and the door opened with a ding.

A blonde girl around their age entered, her head held high. She turned and looked at Kakashi. Her eyes widened as she recognized him.

"Oh my god! Kakashi-sensei?"

--

**A/N**: I had to cut it here, because this was the only spot that looked like it could handle being cut. I think you'll know who got injured. I'll probably update sometime in the coming weekdays or the weekend, because school starts tomorrow and we all know how horrible a Monday is.

Mind you that Gaara can lose a lot of energy just by blocking bullets, if you thought he was weak against Sasuke and Itachi.

M3 W4N7 R3V13W5. Thanks everyone who reviews, you all get nachos.


	3. Sakura

**A/N**: I was about to release this Thursday night, but I've had a tough week and cramped schedule forced me to procrastinate. However, the package has finally arrived; the automatic opener is included for extra effect, and you are staring at my third installment right now, right this second. Thank you all for your extremely sincere support you all have given me.

Disclaimer: I pwn Naruto. At least when Sasuke's not there.

_--_

_**Chapter 3: Sakura**_

_3 years before_

Sasuke, age 17 in his junior year, walked quickly through the school hallway, avoiding teachers and security guards. He did not face any students, since it was a class period. He exited the building and walked down the steps, heading toward the school field. The field consisted of a track, a soccer field, basketball hoops to the side, and couple of tennis courts on the other side. He reached the balcony by the field, near the tennis courts, locating his best friend, Naruto sitting on the rail.

"Hey, dobe, you skipping class again?" Sasuke asked as he sat on a nearby bench.

Naruto rolled his eyes, and said, "Dude, you know you don't want to hear Kakashi talking on and on about hormones and all that crap. Plus, this is the last period so why care?"

"You know that Sarutobi-sensei warned us about going MIA and getting into fights?"

"Words are not actions, Sasuke, and it's not like we're getting into a fight," replied Naruto, not concerned. They sat for a few minutes just enjoying the fresh air. Some girls, from activities in their gym period, were staring at Sasuke. His tie was not done properly, his shirt out, and he had broken the dress code by not wearing the school pants. Instead, he wore his jeans, and girls gawked as his hair moving perfectly in air.

Suddenly they heard a yell nearby. "Hey, give it back!" Sasuke turned toward where the voice had come from. Two girls, one having pink hair and the other blond, were in middle of a tennis match when a boy with crimson hair had grabbed the tennis ball, an evil smirk on his face. He had dark lines around his eyes, as if he had trouble sleeping. Beside him was another boy, a bit bigger but less dangerous-looking.

"Hey, isn't that the guy that we played in basketball, Grinda or something?" asked Naruto to Sasuke, who recognized the guys as Gaara and his brother Kankuro from the Sand High, a neighboring high school. They had met in the basketball season in winter when Konoha High, Sasuke's school, had beaten Sand High in the finals to take the undefeated season.

"Yeah," replied Sasuke.

Gaara said something they couldn't hear, but the girls stiffened as he spoke. Sasuke picked up a pebble, and threw it at Gaara's head. It traveled rapidly, almost in unrealistic speed, toward Gaara's head before it hit him. His head buckled. Naruto jumped off the rail, shouting, "Yo, redhead! Are those lines around your eyes make-up?"

Sasuke got up as Gaara turned around to look at Naruto. Gaara sneered at them as they approached, "Well, well, look who's here to the rescue, the foxy and the crow. Don't you have some shitty classes to finish?"

"Don't you have some shitty sandboxes to make, loser?" retaliated Sasuke as Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"You better watch your back, 'cause you know you're out of your territory." Naruto warned.

"And what should I be scared of, a bunch of girls? Or failures like you, perhaps?" Gaara let go of the tennis ball in his hand as it bounced away from them.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "If you're looking for a fight-"

"Finally got it figured, huh, tensai?" mocked Gaara.

Naruto looked around if any teacher was watching them, and when he couldn't see any, he looked sideways at Sasuke, who was expressionless but said, "It's two-on-two, it's a fair fight. But don't come to me crying when you get suspended."

Naruto grinned, and faced Gaara and Kankuro as Sasuke and he together approached them. Gaara moved his position as Kankuro threw his sweatshirt away. Sasuke, using his speed to his advantage, blocked a punch from Gaara with ease as he appeared behind him and kicked his back. Gaara fell as Naruto aimed a kick at Kankuro, who moved away at just the right second as Naruto tackled him to the ground.

Gaara stood up, started approaching toward his attacker with a loathing look. Sasuke smirked at him, and was about to charge on him when-

"Stop it!" A girl, about a head shorter than Sasuke with pink hair with, stepped between them, looking at Sasuke with her fiery yet emerald eyes. He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Haruno, you can't have welcomed his appearance here, so why-"

"Sasuke, I think you're no better than him. Actually, I _know_ that you're no better than him! You pick stupid fights just for the kicks of it. If you went to their school, I bet you would've done the same exact thing as him! You could have reported them to Sarutobi-sensei, but no, you have to go fight them-"

"And leave you to them?" retorted Sasuke.

"He wouldn't have done a thing to me! You know one thing that I can't stand to watch, Sasuke? A fight! And you and the others probably do it every other day-"

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke's not like that-" defended Naruto, who was on better relations to Sakura.

"You stay out of this, Naruto! It goes the same for you, anyway," she looked back at Sasuke, her eyes still piercingly livid. "I don't get what other girls see in you! To me, you're just an arrogant show-off that just demands attention!"

Gaara and Kankuro started leaving the campus with smug looks on their faces, their departure due to the fact that Gai had spotted them and was approaching Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke was speechless, a trait uncommon for him ever, and was frowning at her.

Other girls were whispering things like, "Did she just tell off Sasuke Uchiha?" and "She must be a lesbian, she couldn't have done that to him if she was straight!" Ino stepped up and led Sakura away from the others, patting her on the back. They walked away as Gai finally approached them.

"Woa, break it up here. What happened, girls? I gave you a free time so you could do what you like, not make a scene-"He turned and found Naruto and Sasuke, still standing where they had been previously. "Uchiha, Uzumaki, I had you last class. That's an after-school detention with me, and Sarutobi-sensei will be notified of your skipping behavior."

Naruto growned; Gai's detention methods were extremely and unrealistically challenging. One time, in their freshmen year, they had got in a tight spot with him. He had made them do 20 laps around the field, on their _hands_. If they didn't complete it in his given time, he doubled the amount of laps and had shortened the time.

"Gai-sensei!" protested Naruto, dreading the detention. "I will _cry_ if you make us break-dance again-"

"No excuses! Lee begs me to lengthen the laps and shorten the time! You should learn from his courageous mind!" Gai told people to go back to their activities, and directed the two boys to the principal's office. As they walked up the steps to the main entrance of the school, Naruto began bribing Gai, telling him that he would do 80 laps in 20 minutes if he didn't send them off to Principal Sarutobi.

Sasuke didn't utter a single word as they entered the main office, because something else was in his mind at that moment.

--

Kakashi turned and looked at the girl, looking bored. His eyes above his mask widened in a comical way. "Ino? Heh, I know the CEO's last name was shared by you, but I didn't think he was actually related…"

The girl turned and looked at Naruto. She tilted her head and asked, "Haven't we met somewhere before?"

"Yeah, that's why I don't go there anymore," replied Naruto sarcastically, who was obviously in a bad mood. Ino looked at Naruto disgustingly.

"You're that loser that flunked the college entrance exam, what's your name, Naruto?" asked Ino rhetorically. Naruto, recognizing Ino as the girl that had talked too much in high school, glared at her.

"It was Tokyo University, and plus I don't need to go to a crappy college. It'll take all the fun out of life, since I've already endured three years of high school. Oh, and aren't you the girl that used too much make-up and had a crush on Sasuke?" he asked rudely, bringing Sasuke into the conversation.

The elevator ringed, signaling the arrival in the first floor. The security agents got out, Sasuke quickly as possible (Ino started asking where Sasuke was). They walked toward the noticeable main office as Ino reluctantly took another route. They could see the broken back entrance had been blockaded, and workers were fixing it with all the speed they could eke out. The five entered the office, and was met by a secretary on her desk, scribbling something. She looked up.

"Ah yes, Takuma-san wanted to see you guards. He is in his office, back there." She pointed toward a hall of offices. "Look for the office tag." She went back to her writing.

"Look for my ass," muttered Naruto, annoyed. They walked through the hall until they reached a room marked _Takuma_. They opened the door, and walked in. They entered a large room, with a comfy set of couches in the middle. A man was sitting near his desk. He gestured them to sit. They all sat.

The security manager cleared his throat, approaching them with a serious look on his face. His sat opposite of them. "Alright, you all know why you are here."

"Actually, I don't know why I am here," retorted Naruto, indignant. Kakashi stepped on his foot, hard. Naruto bit his lips.

"You are here because you have almost failed to protect the welfare of the building this morning. You all have been neglecting the fact that the enemy could raid the building right at this moment. The CEO was very disappointed and almost suggested I fire you all and get new ones. But I do know that you are the best fighters available, so I unfortunately can't do that."

Naruto snorted, and said, "You'll do us more good if you do fire us." This time Sasuke stepped on his foot. Naruto made a face as he tried not to make a noise. Takuma stared at him.

"I suggest you to stay constantly vigilant, and being more on guard. This job is not a joke, or an advantage for you to use the bulding luxuriously. This building was formerly a hotel, but it holds a dangerous system inside it. This isn't a nuclear power plant, but it can _control_ it. So I advise you to keep that in mind while you're in your duties. One mistake and it may be the end of the world."

"Hai, hai," said Naruto carelessly.

"The final matter that I have to discuss with you is the protection of certain members in this building. The obvious one is the CEO, and next there is his daughter, Ino Yamanaka. And since she is so concerned about her friends, they would be protected as well. Uchiha," he said toward Itachi. "You are to be responsible for the well being of Yamanaka-san, the CEO, with your friend, Shisui. Kakashi-san, you are to protect Yamanaka-san's advisory cabinet and his inner circle."

He turned toward Sasuke, and said, "Uchiha, you are to be security agent for Yamanaka-san's daughter and her friends. Your friend can help him if he wants to, since I do not completely trust him yet."

Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, right I'll help Sasuke with handling that pig-"

Kakashi stepped on his foot once again. Naruto resisted a yelp. The security manager stood up, saying "You may go now. But keep in mind that although these special duties are assigned to you, you are still responsible for the protection of the building."

"No shit," muttered Naruto as they exited the room.

--

"Yo, Sasuke, check these out," said Itachi as he entered Sasuke's room with Naruto. He threw several pairs of shades at him, which Sasuke caught easily without taking a glance. "Pick the one you like." Sasuke stopped throwing crumpled paper into the garbage can, making every basket he threw.

Sasuke took a look at the shades. "What's this supposed to do?"

"Makes you look cool," replied Naruto, throwing himself on Sasuke's bed. "Makes you look more lethal, eh, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm not wearing these. Although I gotta say these would probably look corny on you, teme." He started making more baskets, adding different spins to the paper.

"Aw, you're upset you have to protect bunch of girls, huh? It's alright buddy, we all know your hormones are slow and you haven't showed an interest in any girl in your life except that one girl in high school, so-"

Before he could finish the sentence, he was met by a crumpled paper in the face. Unfortunately for him, the paper had inflicted much more pain than a normal one.

Itachi chuckled as he turned to leave. "Peace out, suckers, I gotta provide protection for old man Takuma." He put on his shades and walked out of Sasuke's room.

Naruto turned on the television, flicking through the channels. "Don't you have some girls to protect, Sasuke?" he asked with a smirk.

"Teme, you're coming with me-"

"Nah, but wear those shades, maybe it'll stop them from talking to you." Naruto stopped at a sports channel, showing the tennis final of the Australian Open, women's side.

"Damn, Sharapova is so hot," he drooled, staring at her.

Sasuke shook his head, stood up, and walked toward the door. Before he exited, he aimed another crumpled paper at Naruto's head without even looking. He heard an "Ow!" before he closed the door. He sighed, listening to Naruto for once and putting on a pair the shades. He observed himself at a nearby mirror attached to the wall; it did make him look more dangerous. He pressed the down button for an elevator as he reached the elevator section.

As he waited, he flipped up his cell phone, checking for any text messages. He found three new ones, the most recent from the security manager: _A reminder to you to be at the lobby 3:30 PM sharp. Bring the keys you've received._

The next one was from his rival in drag racing: _What happened to you and your gang, man? The drag strip is boring with you guys not showing up. Drop a visit, bro._

The last one was a junk message. Sasuke entered the elevator as it ringed and closed the flap. He checked the time, reading _3:34 PM. _He swore as he pressed floor one, aka lobby. The elevator traveled in a relatively slow speed which he got used to over the past few days. His room was located on the twenty-third floor, like all the other members of his gang, and it took several minutes before the elevator ringed and exposed the sleek first floor. He walked toward the main entrance.

Sasuke immediately sensed snipers near him, observing for intruders. He ignored them and kept walking, seeing the security manager and two other people. "You're late," he said as Sasuke came close enough to them.

"Sorry," muttered Sasuke nonchalantly.

The manager turned to two women beside him, one being Ino and the other being-

_Shit, what the hell is _she_ doing here?_

"Yamanaka-san, this is the best bodyguard we have in the whole nation. He will be able to defend you as well as Haruno-san over here, so no worries."

_Oh right, they were best friends…_

"Really?" Ino asked, observing Sasuke's all-black clothes and shades, who tried to look away and not let them see his face. "He doesn't look much older than us." Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

"But he _is_ the best, ma'am," answered the manager.

"Hm, alright. Takuma-san, tell daddy that I'm going shopping, and it's going to take a while." Takuma nodded, and turned around and walked toward his office.

Ino turned toward Sasuke, looking at him suspiciously. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Yo no puedo hablar japones. Soy de Espana," he replied, remembering something from his language midterms several years ago.

Ino looked skeptical and turned to her pink-haired friend. "What's that, Polish?" she asked obliviously.

"I think it's Spanish, but I'm not sure. It may be Italian or something." Sakura replied, clueless as Ino. She looked carefully at Sasuke and he looked away and started walking away from them, to the entrance. Something in her head said she recognized some features of the man, but it didn't ring a bell yet.

"Eh, who cares? He'll know what to do," With that, Ino and Sakura followed him, and walked outside. The building was located in a busy street in downtown Tokyo, and it was a part of the security plan that made the location more subtle and difficult to escape with all the people around it.

The sky was obscured with stratus clouds, and there was a strong wind coming their way due south. It was particularly cold that day, even for January, with the strong wind. Ino shouted something about her hair flying all over the place, although Sasuke's hair moved in perfect angels and direction, making him look older and stand out.

Sasuke whistled at the car he was supposed to be driving, close to a limo but not quite. He took out the electronic key that he was given and pressed it, the all-black car responding with a click. He opened the back door for the girls, carefully avoiding eye contact, and hopped on the driver's seat himself. It had a sleek, intrusive look as it did on the outside. He started the engine easily with a lazy flick.

Ino wrote the address of the mall on a piece of paper and handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke took it quickly and read the address, crumpling up the paper a second later.

Without hesitation, he cut into the busy street, narrowly fitting in before the car behind them stopped, honking loudly. Ino yelled at the sudden halt, not expecting the driver to be this risky. "You there! Can't you drive safer?"

"No," Sasuke replied in his most un-Sasuke tone. Ino groaned as Sakura just laughed, earning a glare from her friend.

"What are you laughing at, Sakura?" asked Ino, holding on to her seat as Sasuke made a sharp turn and cut two cars before they could react. Sasuke began sliding into other lanes, changing every two seconds that had him the lead. He ran into other cars, stopping at just the right second and when they stopped out of fear, he slid and cut into them, gaining more angry honks.

"I don't know, really. Just that the way he drives reminds me of someone…"

Sasuke missed the line as another honk was delivered when he took a right without waiting for the sign to turn green. He swiftly avoided being hit, changed the lanes, and started speeding up rapidly. Ino yelled again, afraid she might crash into some pole. Sasuke turned again to a massive plaza, consisting of several grand shopping centers. Two cars, about to turn, stopped right away as Sasuke drove past them, not wasting a glance.

Sasuke entered the zig-zagging parking lot, going few stories up before sliding into an empty spot. He got out, opened the doors for them, and said not a word. As they got out, he locked the doors.

"Never again," said Ino with gritted teeth. "That was like the-"

"Best ride ever!" finished Sakura, not exactly what Ino had in mind. "Remember when you were driving, Ino? It took you twenty-six minutes to get here! And this ride took about-"she checked her watch, "-four minutes."

"N-never again," shuddered Ino, repeating her line. They started walking, Sasuke in front of them. Thankfully, the elevator that took them to the main center opened right way as a couple got out, heading toward their cars with their hands packed with their shopped goods. They got in, Sasuke pressing the Lobby, and the elevator dropped rapidly. Unlike their own elevator back in the SNS building, it opened before they knew, exposing the grand first floor of the mall, with its jewelries, watches, and perfumes.

"Ahh," breathed in Ino. "Home sweet home…"

Sasuke followed as Ino and Sakura as they walked between the aisles, ignoring the jewelries and the perfumes because they already had enough of them. They climbed up the escalators, waited before they hopped off to the women's wear corner.

As Ino gawked at the clothes that had came out just today, Sasuke felt backs of his hair prickling, as if he was being watched. He quickly turned, activating his eye technique for a brief time as he looked around. When he didn't sense anything but numerous people shopping, he deactivated his Sharingan and shrugged off the incident.

--

"Damn it, we almost got spotted!" hissed Kisame, an Akatsuki, to his partner Tobi. Tobi, wearing a weird, swirling mask, chuckled nervously. They were bending down under a counter as Sasuke observed their surroundings. When he turned around and walked away, they sighed. Tobi started saying something goofed up when a little kid, around age five, walked up to them.

"Hey, can I try on the mask please?" he asked, looking at Tobi.

"Yo kid, get away from us unless you wanna get your neck bones cracked like my-"Kisame started to threaten the kid when he interrupted him.

"Wow, it can talk! Ne, oniisan, are you from the blue world of fishies?" asked the little kid as he tried to poke Kisame's blue skin.

"Chibi, you get away from us, c'mon, go to your fucking mommy and your homie daddy, go suck some-"

Tobi covered Kisame's mouth, muffling his profane words. The kid, hearing the curse, started bawling as he screamed for his mother. The mother quickly came around, picked the boy up as she saw him, and glared at the two Akatsuki members.

"Excuse me, miss," as she called to a worker nearby. "There is a couple of shoplifters right here under the counter. I suggest you call security."

"No,no, we're not shoplifters! We are actually members of the secret organization Akat-"

"Shut up, Tobi," cut in Kisame, glaring at him.

"Kisame-sempai! We have to let them know or else they're going to send us to jail-"

"I said, shut up!"

A paper airplane suddenly flew by. It spiraled in front of them before landing on Kisame's lap. The two looked at it, recognizing the elegant folds.

"That's from Konan, isn't it, sempai?" asked Tobi.

Kisame unfolded the paper, which contained a message. It jumped out of their hands and cut itself into thin strips, forming the words:

_Uchiha, out. SNS agents planning to seize Sand. Everyone to gather at 732._

--

**A/N**: Okaay this chapter wasn't really packed with action but the fights will come back so…

Anyway, I decided to put a little bit of their pasts each chapter to build on it, and that idea was inspired by the story _The Drama High School Brings_ by **k.c91/n.c97 **pair; I'm still reading it. The taunting jokes directed at Gaara were from the parody _20 Ways to Piss Off Gaara _written by **hotflamealchemist1**. Our attorney has received a permission to debut the methods in the third chapter, and will be caught off-guard if any lawsuits are filed against him.

I did not want Sasuke and Sakura to have a perfect relationship from the beginning because if they did, it'll be too hard for me to do anything about them. Please do not sue me with the conception perfection and perspectives of happily ever afters.


	4. Sasuke

**A/N**: Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews! They help me so much in continuing this, so keep up the support!

This full chap is taken place a day after last chapter's scene between Sasuke and Sakura, but don't worry; I'm not turning this story into a high school fic. I need to work on Sasuke's past and also Itachi's, so I can bring in the ties that bring us to the present day...

**Disclaimer**: HaruAaki aka Stacey Muffin the Santa Claus' elf who likes Barnie and reviews equals Masashi Kishimoto? That's right, baby.

* * *

Sasuke walked out as he passed the school entrance gate, the sunset dropping ever lower by every step he took. He had just finished the detention Gai had set up for them; it consisted of punishments that could've made anyone a bboy overnight. His best friend, Naruto, was trailing behind him, walking like a drunken man. He tripped as he stepped on a pebble, catching himself just in time. 

"Hey, teme!" slurred Naruto. "You haven't said anything since three hours ago. What's up-"he tripped again.

Sasuke wasn't paying attention. His head was focused on the ground below him, his bangs covering his face. Despite his posture, he walked perfectly as Naruto attempted to catch up to him, tipping slightly.

"Is this about Sakura?" Naruto asked. "C'mon, she always insults you when even when you're _around_ her. I mean, she practically hated you from Day 1, so what's the problem-"

Sasuke glared at him. "You think I want her to hate me?" he asked, turning toward him. "Do you think I want her to shout at me every time I get detention or every time we get into a fight?"

"Teme, why do you care? You two were never really friends, so why do you even bother?" asked Naruto curiously, wondering what had caused his best friend to act like this.

Sasuke shook his head. "Never mind, Naruto…"

* * *

_Next morning_

Sakura was walking along the sidewalk to school, slowly waiting for her best friend, Ino, to join her. Ino had a bad habit of being tardy to school, and this was, Sakura assumed, one of those days.

She reached the pedestrian walk, stopping when she saw the red light. After several seconds, it turned green, signaling her to walk on. She landed her first step when she was interrupted by a shout.

"Hey Haruno! Hold it right there!"

Sakura turned around, suddenly facing three fly girls with too much make-up and flashy clothes that violated the school dress code. They were all glaring at her with intense animosity. _Shit…_

"What do you want?" asked Sakura, putting on a cold face.

"I heard you landed our Sasuke-kun in detention yesterday. You planned all that, am I right, loser? You're gonna-"

"What?" Sakura cut in, her temper slightly rising. "Did Uchiha tell you that shit-"

"Yeah, he did. And don't talk about Sasuke-kun that way, bitch," interrupted the girl in the middle with crimson hair, named Karin. The other two were causing Sakura to back up the other way, toward the brick wall behind them. "You do that to Sasuke again, and then we practically kill you by making your life as miserable as possible. But we can't let you go off that easily…"

Sakura tried to push the other two and run toward the crossing, which had been flashing for quite a time now. They reacted quickly and pushed her hard against the wall, getting a hold of her shoulders. She tried to shake them away, but their grip was too strong on her. "Let me go!"

Karin smirked as she walked toward her, enjoying the helplessness of Sakura. Cars were passing by, ignoring the scene. Sakura looked around for help, only to witness the empty sidewalks.

Karin, grabbing Sakura's tie, raised a ringed fist and struck Sakura's face, making a cut on her cheek. She raised her fist again for another blow-

"Leave her alone," said a cold voice behind them. Karin turned around, and her smirk faded as she saw who was witnessing her act. Sakura's eyes, which were closed a moment before, slowly opened as she looked toward the person that had come to her rescue.

"S-Shino-san," stuttered Karin, suddenly backing up from Sakura. "U-um, how was your d-day-"

"Get out of here," stated Shino, his eyes cold through his shades.

"H-hai, we'll just g-go-"with that she turned with her two friends, turning the other way and running toward the wrong direction for their lives. Sakura sighed in relief; Shino was one of those lawful guys.

"You okay?" he asked in a lighter tone, addressing Sakura.

"Y-yes, thanks to you," she replied, a bit shaken. She rubbed her cheek, which had started to bleed.

"You gotta get that patched up, better head toward the nurse when we get to school," said Shino. The lights turned red again, making Sakura groan. Shino just turned the other way and started walking. Sakura looked at his back confusedly.

"Um, Shino, aren't you going-"

"C'mon," indicated Shino. "There are faster ways to get to school than the main road, you know."

Sakura, trusting Shino, followed him. They walked along a narrow sidewalk, heading toward a bunch of bushes. On the way, Shino asked, "What did those girls want?"

"Sasuke," muttered Sakura furiously. "They said he told them-"

"He didn't," cut in Shino straightforwardly. "Whatever they say he told them, I know that guy; he's not the type to talk to those fangirls. He practically hates them."

Sakura bit her lips, not sure whether to believe that or not.

"He's a good guy, you know," continued on Shino. "Not the average-"

"Stop, or you'll go on about all the good things about Uchiha Sasuke," said Sakura, covering her ears. "To me, he's a jerk who likes being cocky around every girl he encounters-"

"Actually, he acts like that only around-"

"I said, stop!"

They reached a small path leading to a fence. As they got closer, Sakura noticed that a portion of a fence had fallen down, letting them through the gap. They went through and reached the-

"Back of the building?" asked Sakura in awe. She turned to face where they had come from; the gap was hardly visible because of the trees around it. The path had led them to the school so quickly that Sakura couldn't believe it.

"Yep, the school officials haven't figured out why me or the others haven't been caught trespassing or skipping class. Sasuke found out about this one and a couple others. You gotta go around the whole campus to reach this spot if you took the normal way…"

They walked to the side of the building that led them to the top of the steps leading to the entrance. Few students were coming up the steps, many not having arrived yet. The two turned, facing the entrance.

"I gotta play some hoops with the guys before class. Think you can handle it from here?" asked Shino.

"Yeah, thank you," replied Sakura. She entered the building as Shino walked down the steps. She turned to a hallway that led to the nurse's office; her cheek was bleeding badly now. Sakura cupped her hands around it to stop the flow. "Damn you, Karin…"

She turned and entered the office at the end of the hallway, smelling the usual scent of Tsunade's advanced medicines. When she entered, she heard an irritated voice that sounded like a certain foxy boy-

"Tsunade-obachan, I really need some aspirin! That last detention with Gai-sensei seriously gave me a migraine! My head freakin' hurtss like hell-"

"Teme, stop being a sissy and let's go," spoke up a voice.

Sakura stopped and faced the back of Naruto, who was sitting on the chair directly in front of Tsunade's desk. Sasuke was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and balancing on his foot that was also touching the wall. He looked tired than usual, as if he didn't get enough sleep.

Tsunade, her face on her intersected fingers, brightened up when she found an excuse to focus her attention on something other than Naruto.

"Sakura! What bring you here-oh no, is that blood all over your hand?" exclaimed Tsunade.

Sasuke and Naruto turned their heads toward Sakura, who wasn't pleased to see the them this early. "Um, Tsunade-sama, you see, I, er, fell when I was walking to school-"

"Fell?" said Tsunade, standing up. "That's quite a fall, right there. You have to clean that up before it gets an infection-"she led Sakura to the sink near the beds, which was covered up by a series of stands.

Naruto groaned, clutching his head. "I wonder how much Tsunade-obachan paid Sakura-chan to interrupt…"

Sasuke could tell the pink haired girl was lying; he had been in too many fights to dismiss the fact that the cut on her check was made by fist, probably with rings. He also could tell by the stuttering that Sakura was lying. He silently waited for his friend to get up.

"I wonder how she fell?" Naruto asked stupidly, stretching his ached body.

"She didn't _fall_, dobe," said Sasuke simply. "She got _hit_."

"Hit?" said Naruto. "Come off it, Sasuke, no one would hit _Sakura-chan_."

Sakura and Tsunade came out, the former's cheek patched up with a bandage. Naruto started asking Tsunade for some aspirin again, only to be dragged away by Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan," said Tsunade. "Do you want to stay here for first period?"

"No thank you, Tsunade-sama," replied Sakura kindly. She tried to exit the office quickly to avoid Sasuke, whose eyes told her that he knew what had caused her injury. Unfortunately, he was too quick for her.

"So, Haruno, who did that to you?" asked Sasuke as he came behind her, letting go of Naruto.

"None of your business, Uchiha," replied Sakura, taking her anger out at him.

"Huh?" said Naruto, clueless. "What? Who did what to her? She lost her virginity?"

Sakura's vein popped out, ready to beat Naruto up into a pulp. She aimed a punch on his head, only to have it blocked as Sasuke grabbed her wrist. "Easy there."

_One more year and I don't have to face these guys, that's right_, she calmed herself down. _No more Uchiha and his little fangirls…_

"It's you, Uchiha," spat Sakura, looking at Sasuke. "And let go of my hand-"she broke free from his grip.

"What did I do now, Haruno?" asked Sasuke defensively.

"You were born," retorted Sakura as she started walking again. "You make my life miserable, that's what."

"Hey!" said Naruto. "That's not nice! Iruka-sensei said every human being has natural rights and that they have the right to live!"

"Shut up, teme," said Sasuke, at the same time pushing Sakura against the wall. He asked again, with more concern in his voice, "Who punched you?"

"No one punched me, Uchiha," replied Sakura, looking away as tears built up in her eyes. "Now leave me alone." She pushed Sasuke's arms away and walked quickly away from the two. Naruto whistled, impressed at Sakura's resistance.

"The Uchiha rejected yet again," he said admiringly, patting Sasuke. "There's a first time for everything, don't feel-"

"Shut up, teme," repeated Sasuke as they walked toward the side exit, planning on skipping their first class.

* * *

"Ne, Sakura, do you want to try out for the girls' basketball team?" asked Ino as her best friend, Sakura sat on their lunch table. "Can you please try out with me? I don't want to be alone when they try out." 

"Ino, you know basketball isn't my thing. My only sport is tennis," replied Sakura, sitting down and sighing. "I'll probably get laughed at…"

"C'mon, please, for me?" asked Ino again, using the helpless puppy eyes. "Please, please, please, I'm begging you Sakura. I will never call you names if you try out with me! Please-"

"Alright, I will!" gave up Sakura, throwing her hands up.

Ino grinned. "Thanks so much, Sakura! That's my girl!" She looked up as their two other friends, Hinata and Tenten, sat down as well. Hinata was about to greet them as usual when-

"Sakura, what happened to your cheek?" asked Tenten, looking carefully at the bruise on Sakura's cheek. "Did someone cut you or something?"

"H-huh? No, no, I, um, fell down this morning. You know, clumsy me…"

Ino, unconvinced, asked, "Where were you this morning, anyway? I couldn't find you."

"I got here early today, you know, had to do some extra credit…"

They were all looking at her accusingly, and Ino simply said, "Spit it out already, Sakura."

Sakura sighed again, fully knowing that her friends weren't going to give up until she told them the truth. "Alright; you know that bitch Karin? She punched me. Got it? Good."

"She WHAT?" shouted Ino, standing up. People around them turned away from their lunches and stared at them.

"She punched me," repeated Sakura.

"Well, did you punch her back?" asked Tenten hotly. "Maybe I can chop off her hair off today by throwing a couple of shuriken knives-"

"Why did she punch you?" asked Hinata worriedly.

"She…thought I planned the outburst on Uchiha yesterday. You know how she is-"

"That little stuck-up bitch, thinking that Sasuke will ever like her," said Ino furiously. "She's going to pay big for this, I'll make sure about that…"

_3:00 After School_

There was a tremendous amount of noise in the gym that afternoon. There were about a couple hundred of girls sitting in the bleachers, all waiting for the basketball tryout. But most of them, for some reason, were no basketball types and a lot of them even had skirts and girly shoes on, but had come to the tryout for some other reason…

Ibiki Morino, the basketball coach for both boys and girls, looked out at the hundreds of girls gossiping and giggling. He called over the assistant coach, Iruka Umino, as he stared at the massive crowd.

"Iruka! Tell me why there are two hundred kids trying out for basketball? Last year it was about thirty."

"Er… sempai, you do know that the school can't afford to provide them with their own jerseys-"

"That's why I'm having them wear the boys' jerseys from last month! Basketball isn't about beauty-"

"Um, that's the problem you see, it's that…"

"Iruka, don't try my patience!" said Ibiki as he crossed his arms.

"Its Uchiha," Iruka replied in a lowered voice, purposely coughing between the words.

Ibiki's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Uchiha…"

* * *

"Uchiha!" Ibiki shouted as he located his star point guard that had won him the undefeated season. The said teen turned his head as he was about to leave school, giving his coach his trademark stare and raising his eyebrow. 

"Uchiha!" repeated Ibiki, pointing at him. "My gym is filled up with hundreds of little girls because of _you."_

"And it's my fault because?" asked Sasuke dryly.

"And their precise reason for trying out is that they want a jersey; _your_ jersey," said Ibiki. "I don't know why they _want_ your jersey, but I want you to go there and fix this thing up for me." As he said it, he jabbed Sasuke with his fingers.

Sasuke, turning around, sighed. "Why not just burn it, coach?"

"Burn it?" said Ibiki, shocked. "That's the jersey that won the championship! I'm not going to burn that!"

"Alright, alright, just give me ten minutes with them; I'll have them out of your gym…"

--

Sasuke walked into the gym through the boys' locker room, thunderous noise of conversations growing louder by every step. He witnessed a lot of girls, mostly consisting of his fangirls, chattering and talking loudly about a certain topic. He could spot Sakura and Ino, the former looking disgusted at the fact that this many girls had shown up for a boy's jersey and the latter glaring at a certain red headed girl with proportionate eyes. He followed her gaze and groaned when he saw Karin, an annoying fangirl.

When all the girls noticed he was approaching near them, the gym boomed as they screamed for Sasuke. Some of them were holding I heart Sasuke posters, and some of them were taking pictures of him on their cell phones.

"Sasuke-kun, you're like a light bulb!" screamed Karin, going wild. "You turn me on!"

When it quieted down and when Ibiki was at Sasuke's side, the teen put on his dangerous face, the one he used when he was about to nearly kill his enemies. Even Ibiki looked a bit worried. "Anyone who's wearing jewelry, dress, or anything other than normal, gets out."

No one moved.

"I said, OUT!" he shouted, glaring at them. The girls cringed as he shouted, and about a hundred of them left, scrambling toward the exit. About a hundred others remained, including Karin. He gave them his killer stare, and several more of them left.

"Alright then," he started. "Half of you on the right, get a ball and start to dribble it around the court." They did as told, and Sasuke began eliminating them quickly by pointing at them and telling them to leave. They pouted and stomped their foot, but left grudgingly, almost crying. About five of the fifty girls that dribbled remained. Sasuke told the other half to do the same. Ino and Sakura got up, both of them shocked by Sasuke's attitude and a bit scared.

"Sakura, you remember how to dribble, right?" asked Ino worriedly. "Just like the old days, you know, when we-"

"Don't worry Ino, I can at least dribble…" They picked up the balls and started dribbling as Sasuke started eliminating them, this time with a bit more hesitation. He was disappointed to find out that Karin was actually good at it; she was the person that he wanted to eliminate first. He took out several more fangirls that couldn't even dribble twice, kept Ino and Sakura because they were doing decent, and when he was done, there were about thirty to forty girls left.

"You can take it from here, coach," said Sasuke as he started to leave, patting his coach on the arms. "Good luck handling them…"

Ibiki looked quite impressed, and was quite speechless that in ten minutes Sasuke had eliminated the whole mob. He shook his head. _Uchiha…._

* * *

"Damn," muttered Naruto as he slowly got up and fell down again. His bike had just crashed under a bridge during a race. The five others, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino sharply turned around, stopping near the foxy boy. They all got off quickly, aiding Naruto. They put him aside, laying him down, and turned off the engine of his bike. 

"Dang, Naruto, that was hell of a crash," complimented Kiba, his tiny dog, Akamaru, wagging his tail on his head. "What happened, man?"

"L-lost control," stuttered Naruto as he felt pain on his right leg. "Ass out, didn't I?'

"Naruto-san, are you alright?" asked Lee, concerned.

"Stop with the damn –san, Lee," said Naruto. "Daijoubu-datebayo."

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru lazily. "Just had to crash right at this moment, huh? I'm sure you broke your leg."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I broke my leg. Better call the teme to get over here, we don't wanna call the authorities. Tell him to bring his car, his crib is like right above here…"

They didn't need to; at that moment, Sasuke, on his blue and onyx sport bike, soared past them and turned sharply, avoiding passing cars swiftly as he skidded and halted beside them. He took out his helmet, and asked, "Did the dobe go suicidal again?"

"Hey!" protested Naruto. "Teme, where have you been? We were waiting for you for like five minutes but you wouldn't show up-"

"Yeah, apparently," replied Shino, addressing Sasuke. "You should get your car and take Naruto to the hospital. We reckon he broke his leg."

"Right," said Sasuke quickly before he put his helmet back on and straightly merged into the busy highway, turning into an exit that led him to his street of residence. He cut several cars quickly, nearly getting hit but expertly avoiding it. He jumped of his bike as he got to his house, in which he lived alone. Itachi also lived alone, due to the lifestyle of their father Fugaku and their mother Mikoto, who were diplomats and frequently had to travel around to negotiate. Fugaku was the head of the Police Department of Tokyo, and also the nation's top prosecutor, while Mikoto was in the office for the Homeland Security of Japan.

Sasuke took out the keys to his car, a sleek, black Jaguar, as his dog Kuro, a black lab, barked his friendly bark. "Later, Kuro, I gotta help Naruto."

He drove off in his car to pick up Naruto to the hospital.

_In the hospital_

The guys were fooling around when Naruto came out on crutches. Kiba looked joyful when he saw the condition of Naruto. Jumping around, he shouted, "Yes, because of Cripple here, one of us can leave classes five minutes early!"

"Hey, Crip," said Neji as he smirked. "Feeling better?"

"That's my name now, huh, Crip?" Naruto asked as he tried to move around the corridor on his crutches. "Damn, I'm thirsty."

A nurse, who looked a bit older than them, came up to Naruto at that moment. She didn't look too happy to see Naruto grinning. "Naruto-san, what would you like to drink before you go?" asked the nurse grudgingly.

Naruto's grin grew bigger. "You can get me anything, baby; just make it sexy."

The nurse looked as if she could've slapped him, but restrained herself and stomped off.

They laughed as the nurse entered a room and closed the door with a bang. That included Shino, who rarely laughed at anything, who asked, "Were you hitting on her all the time you were in there?"

"Pretty much," Naruto replied, satisfied with himself. Sasuke just shook his head.

* * *

In a chilly room, there were four people present, three standing up and one kneeling down on the floor opposite of the three. The shortest one standing, Gaara, had an evil smirk on, and his brother, Kankuro and sister, Temari were expressionless. The one kneeling down on the floor was shaking—shaking madly. 

"What did you say?" asked Gaara, pointing a gun at him.

"T-that you kids shouldn't-"the man, a senior at Sand High, stopped abruptly as he saw the gun pointed at him.

"We don't give shit about what you think, and if you don't do what we tell you to do-"

"I'll never do it! Not if it means taking an innocent life-"

Gaara pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting the man's left shoulder that knocked him out of his position. Gaara shot him again on his right shoulder, causing the senior student to scream in pain. He took his time for the older student to register the pain, and then Gaara aimed at his torso this time, pulling the trigger as the bullet went through the man's stomach. He coughed up blood, not having enough energy to even scream now.

"Then die," said Gaara coldly, not showing any hints of remorse, disgust, or guilt but pure enjoyment. He approached the man slowly, his smirk getting bigger by every second. The older man's eyes were full of fear and pain as Gaara pointed the gun at the man's forehead.

BANG! The figure slowly fell as Gaara chuckled in amusement. He kicked the body toward the door, where his gang would take care of it. If there were anyone who was opposing his side, they were going to die. _Die_ without mercy.

* * *

**A/N**: For those of you hate me for writing about the past and want more action, well next few chapters may be about the past but there's going to be action in it so don't worry… For those of you who reviews, let it be known that one single review haves me do military push ups and do a mile run without ever stopping once. 

I started using the big lines to seperate scenes, and italicized words to change a little scene, which are used in _The Drama High School Brings_, and I thought it was really neat.

The next chap probably will be updated next week, and then I have the February break for a week so I should have a lot of time to write more then.

IF YOU DON'T REVIEW I WILL CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP AND MAYBE EVEN GO SUICIDAL AND JUMP OFF A CLIFF!


	5. Itachi

**A/N**: Updated bit earlier. Read on.

**Disclaimer**: D stands for disrespect. I don't dis Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Itachi**_

_7 years before _

A clear replica of Uchiha Sasuke, only taller with a short ponytail, Uchiha Itachi walked slowly to the back of a shadowy building. He had on a long, black cloak with red clouds on, walking silently through the dark night. The Akatsuki were the most feared gang in the city at the time, known for producing "peace" yet using absolute force and killing to reach its goal. He sensed a person coming toward him beside a bush, a man with a massive sword wrapped in bandages. Kisame Hoshigaki emerged in line with Itachi, the former nodding as a greeting. The two walked together without saying a word as they got closer to the rest of the gang.

"Itachi, Kisame," nodded the leader, Pain as they approached him. Pain changed his appearance ever so often, this time having piercing all over his face with short but sharp hair. Beside him was his partner and long-time friend, Konan, who had shoulder-length blue hair with an origami flower in her hair. Following were Zetsu and Orochimaru, Hidan and Kakuzu, and lastly Sasori and Deidara.

"Why were we called this late at night, leader?" asked the shark-like man, Kisame. "You always have a reason."

"We're all called here because of an incident that happened a few hours ago. An incident that has to deal with your brother, Itachi," replied Pain, nodding toward Itachi. "Your brother's been making trouble in the Konoha Junior High, and we think he has potential to be in the Akatsuki. And also, I heard that one of your best friends, Shisui, has been pressuring you about your loyalty toward the Akatsuki…"

Itachi stiffened as he heard his brother's name as well as his best friend's. He looked at Pain straight in the eye, glaring, as the leader stared back at him with equal intensity. Pain asked, "What do you say, Itachi?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, looking at his gang members all staring at him. "Leader, I have to express that my little brother is a bit too young to be in the Akatsuki. And as for my best friend, I can deal with him at my own measure-"

"So, you are basically saying we should leave them alone?" cut in Pain. "You're opposing-"

BANG! Itachi, in a fraction of a second, had pulled out his handgun and took aim at Pain. The bullet was, however, blocked by a series of papers banded together, reflecting the bullet that slowly fell to the floor. Kisame, beside him, swore and was about to strike Itachi when the said partner grabbed Kisame's arm and twisted it, breaking his elbow. Itachi kneed him hard as he stroke Kisame's pressure point in his neck.

"I knew it-"started Zetsu as Deidara threw an incendiary grenade at Itachi. He moved quickly and avoided the torturing heat, throwing a set of kunai knives at Hidan and Kakuzu, who moved just in time as the knives struck the wall. Itachi quickly moved as bullets soared beside him, Pain having regained his position and was holding handguns in each hand. Sasori took out his best puppet, which started pinpointing Itachi as he blocked an attack from Orochimaru. Itachi aimed at Hidan and Kakuzu, and double pulled the trigger in a nanosecond. It hit its mark as Hidan and Kakuzu fell, clutching their arms.

Itachi appeared right behind Orochimaru, kicking him in the back and as Orochimaru tried to regain his balance, Itachi landed an uppercut and kicked him in the neck. Orochimaru fell as he lost his consciousness. BANG! He felt a sickening pain rising in his left arm as he dodged more bullets, kicking Sasori's puppet in his way. Zetsu disappeared into the ground as Itachi tried to land a series of punches on him; he turned back quickly and threw a dozen kunai knives at Deidara, several of them landing on the receiver's extremities. Deidara fell as he threw another grenade at Itachi, which exploded right away, burning Itachi's left side.

Grimacing in pain, he backed into the side as Sasori, Konan, and Pain cornered him. Zetsu appeared among them, rising out of the ground. Pain stared intensely at Itachi, contemptuously observing his injuries. "Do you get what pain is, Itachi? Do you feel it? Now you know what comes out of resistance-"

"Don't you get that you're the only one that can't stand a little bit of pain?" mocked Itachi. "You don't-"

BANG! Another bullet shot through Itachi's already injured arm.

"Then, Itachi, die," stated Pain with finality. He started to pull the trigger. Itachi slowly closed his eyes.

--

_Flashback, few years ago_

"_Aniki!" called a smaller Sasuke, running toward his older brother he idolized. "Aniki!"_

_Itachi turned around, seeing his little brother stopping right in front of him, catching his breath. "What is it, Sasuke?"_

"_I-I heard you are in the gang Akatsuki! Can you tell me about it? Father said that it was the most powerful yakuza that rebelled against the bad guys in the government! Is it great there?" Sasuke looked at Itachi with anticipation. Itachi sighed, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he led his brother to the front porch of their mansion. Itachi sat on the steps as Sasuke did the same, looking at the sunset coming down as it darkened in color._

"_Whatever father says about me, it's not exactly true, Sasuke," said Itachi, sighing yet again. "It's tough to be there, and it's certainly not great… Our father, unfortunately, has a stereotypical belief that yakuza are actually rebellious in a better way… It's not like that Sasuke, and I never want you to join it, okay?"_

_Sasuke frowned, not believing his brother. "So what father says about you is all bluff?"_

_Itachi chuckled. "No, but he's wrong about the Akatsuki… it's very cruel in there, and if I had a chance to switch places with you, I'd probably do it."_

"_Then why don't we switch places?" asked Sasuke. "I want to be in the spotlight for once-"_

"_I told you," cut in Itachi. "It's not like that there. So-"_

"_So why don't you get away from them?" asked Sasuke._

_Itachi paused, pondering on the question. "I don't know, Sasuke…"_

--

"Is this the path you've chosen?" asked Pain, stopping the trigger for a second. "Is abandoning Akatsuki your choice?"

--

_Flashback, few days ago_

_Two teens, one being Itachi and the other being his best friend Shisui, were standing in an empty classroom, the clock hitting three that signaled the end of the day. They were staring at each other intensely, both of them not blinking once. Itachi and Shisui were practically brothers, coming from the same family tree and both of them friends since their days in preschool. However, that did not stop the latter from getting into a serious fight with Itachi._

"_Your gang is evil, Itachi. Don't you get it? Your gang goes on and on about peace but what they're doing is really torture individual by individual!"_

"_Shut up, Shisui, you don't understand-"_

"_I fucking well understand about your gang, Itachi! Are you blind? You torture and kill people because of your "significant" goal! You're just being-"_

_BAM! Itachi punched Shisui square in the face, knocking the wind out him as he hit rows of desks, breaking its legs. Itachi picked up his bag and started leaving, shaking madly as he left the classroom out the hallway._

_"Itachi..."_

--

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, the four of the remaining Akatsuki expecting the usual cold, onyx eyes that Itachi possessed. However, what they got was sanguine red eyes, with sets of dots on them appearing on them. Two sets of red dots appeared in each eye, then a third in his left eye. The four others stared at it, Pain narrowing his eyes carefully.

Pain's eyes widened as he recognized the eye. "T-that's the-"

_- - _

_Flashback, several years ago_

"_Jiraiya-sensei, can you tell me about the legendary eye techniques?" A younger Pain, much different in appearance, asked the legendary Sanin Jiraiya. This Jiraiya was a bit younger than the future author of the perverted series _Icha Icha Paradise_. He raised his eyebrows._

"…_The eye techniques, huh?" said Jiraiya slowly, looking at the eager boy. "Well, there are several of them. One possessing such an eye has the potential of being one of the three "Formidables" of the world. For one, there's the legendary Rin'negan, the most powerful of all. I don't believe in it, but it's said to have a ripple-like pattern and that it was possessed by the founder of supernaturals like us-"_

"_Does that mean you have to have one of those eyes to be the "Formidable," sensei?" asked Pain._

"_Well… not exactly. Anyone with supernatural powers can be the "Formidable" one, but possessing those eyes will certainly give you an advantage."_

"_What are the others?"_

"_Second, there is the Byakugan. It's the most common eye technique, but it can see through opaque substances and able you to see a three-fifty-eight field vision. It is acquired by birth, hence being common. The last eye technique is a complicated one, which is called the Sharingan; it has to be acquired by the possessor himself, though I don't know how. The Sharingan is the eye technique that has the most secrets in it, and it can be as legendary as the Rin'negan itself." Jiraiya paused for a moment, looking at Pain. "Why are you interested about the three great eye techniques?"_

"_Just being curious, sensei…"_

_--_

"…Sharingan," finished Pain.

Itachi suddenly disappeared, and then suddenly appeared behind Konan, knocking her out quickly. Sasori took out his puppet and tried a set of attacks, only to have it blocked easily by Itachi's one hand. Itachi took out another handgun, shot Zetsu in the chest, and aimed at Sasori's head. At the same time, he dissected Sasori's puppet easily as he kicked and punched it in a nanosecond-speed. Sasori fell down as the bullet went through his shoulder, parts of his puppet landing on him.

Pain reloaded quickly and shot Itachi, the Uchiha disappearing into the thin air and appearing right beside the other. The two got into a hand-to-hand combat, Itachi gaining advantage against the Akatsuki leader. He landed a direct hit on Pain's head and reappeared behind him quickly, stabbing his back with a kunai knife. Pain fell, but not without activating his own eye technique.

Itachi froze, looking at the pair of ripple-like patterned eyes. He reacted quickly and tried to tackle-stab Pain, only to have his hand grabbed and twisted, breaking the wrist. Itachi screamed in pain, adjusting to his burnt hand as he took out another handgun. He shot at the figure on the concrete floor until it was unloaded, but Pain blocked every one as he moved swiftly. Then Itachi heard something- and saw silhouetted shapes flying above him.

Itachi lost consciousness as he felt all sides of his body being crushed and hit at the same time. Before he fell, Itachi felt his right eye changing—not back into onyx—but his right eye gaining the last set of dots. As his eyes changed, he saw five hawks, all identical that were soaring toward the ground rapidly. He then entered pure blackness, nothing but blackness that continued on and on for what felt like eternity.

* * *

Beep…beep….beep…beep….beep…beep…beep…beep… 

_Am I dead?_

Beep…

_Where am I?_

Beep…beep….

_What am I?_ he asked himself.

Beep…beep…beep…

_You're the one that chose your own destiny_, answered something inside him.

Itachi Uchiha slowly opened his eyes, and then quickly closed them as he felt light entering his eyes. He slowly opened them again, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the new brightness of the real world. Itachi felt numb all over, and he couldn't feel his left arm at all. He was rapped in bandages that covered most of his body, and by the looks of it he was in an emergency room of a hospital. The room, however, was empty. Moments later, he could hear voices coming from behind the door-

"I want to see my brother!" said a familiar voice loudly. "Now move!"

A thirteen-year old boy entered the room, his face sweating as if he had fought the whole security guards in the hospital to get to his older brother, and brightened up when he saw Itachi. "Aniki!" he yelled. "Are you alright?"

Itachi smiled but felt a sting in his jaw, causing him to grimace instead. He tried to talk, but felt his voice being cracked. Another figure entered the room, this time being his best friend, Shisui, looking concerned.

"Itachi, you okay, bro?" asked Shisui, standing beside Sasuke. Itachi slowly winked at them. Shisui recognized the wink as a definite yes; Itachi had used it every time when a girl he liked asked him out in school.

Shisui smirked, relieved, as security guards entered the room along with a doctor.

"Hold it right there, sirs!" commanded the doctor. "He is in critical condition and is not up for interrogation! You don't just get up and talk after being shot several times and burnt by an explosion!"

The security guards tried to grab Sasuke and Shisui as Sasuke tried to punch the guards. Shisui blocked him, glaring at Sasuke that told him that they couldn't afford to get into trouble.

"We'll leave, doctor, we were just making sure Itachi was doing okay." The two let the guards lead them out of the room. They got out to the long hallway, locating Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha sitting on the benches against the wall. Sasuke and Shisui approached them to bring the news of Itachi's condition.

"Don't go running like that, young man," scolded Mikoto, looking at Sasuke accusingly. "You don't just barge in and push the guards out of the way!"

"Yes, mom," replied Sasuke immediately, the two words being second-nature to him.

"How is he, Shisui?" asked Fugaku, worry written across his face.

"He's in critical condition but I think he'll be okay," replied Shisui.

"Any memory loss?" asked Mikoto.

"No, the guy still knows his stuff," said Shisui. "Don't worry, he'll be up and running in a flash. Right, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, he'll be okay," said Sasuke.

The two parents sighed in relief, but Fugaku still held his face as Mikoto's relaxed. "This is my entire fault," he said, putting his face on his hands. "If I hadn't been a fool enough to encourage Itachi to join-"

"Its' not your fault, dear," consoled Mikoto, patting him. "You should be glad he's okay."

The four of them turned and looked as an old man, the principal of Konoha High, walked toward them. Shisui straightened and bowed as he approached. Sarutobi nodded as he addressed the Uchiha parents. "I would like to talk to you, Fugaku, and Mikto as well on what may have happened to Itachi when he was attacked."

"O-of course, Sarutobi-sama," answered Fugaku, standing up as Mikoto did the same. They started walking away from Shisui and Sasuke, but not without Sarutobi winking at the latter. Sasuke frowned, wondering what that meant, as Shisui chuckled, ruffling Sasuke's hair.

"Good thing your brother's gonna be okay, ne, Sasuke?" asked Shisui.

Sasuke paused. "Yeah, but I've never seen him like that, beaten…"

"Itachi is tough. He'll be up and running in a day."

The two walked the other way, thinking of getting a drink for both of them.

_

* * *

Present Day, SNS_

Back in the lounge room, Shikamaru was sitting on the biggest couch, putting his feet on the table and thinking. In front of him were Shino, Kiba, Neji, and Naruto. Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai were standing behind him.

"Well," started the lazy genius. "Before the guy Kankuro escaped, Shino put a female bug in him so we could locate the Sand's headquarters. It's not far from here, but my leg is aching like crazy, man. I don't wanna move-"

"Shikamaru," pointed Asuma accusingly. "This isn't the time to relax and do as we please. We have to get rid of the Sand quickly as possible-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. First we should call Uchiha, all three of them. I need to decide who to siege Sand and who to get left back to protect the building. You never know, some other gang might be planning to seize it again."

Naruto flipped up his cell phone to call his best friends as Shino did the same to call Itachi and Shisui.

* * *

_At the mall_

"Our bodyguard is freaking me out, Sakura," hissed Ino to her best friend. "He won't even answer me when I asked him if I look good on this." She thrust a red dress into Sakura's hands.

"Maybe he was speechless because you looked horrible in this," said Sakura, smirking, looking at the dress. "It'll match good on me, but it'll probably look terrible-"

"Shut up, Sakura."

Sasuke, who tried his best to stay undercover, suddenly felt his cell phone ringing its ringtone. He flipped it up with a practiced hand, answering. "Yeah?"

"Hey, teme, you gotta come back to the building; it's urgent," said a familiar voice on the other line.

"Dude, I can't get back there because of these girls-"

"Seriously, teme, we're about to attack the Sand! You're not gonna let those girls stop you from avenging Lee, right?"

At the sound of Lee's name, Sasuke came to his senses as he nearly crushed his phone. "Alright, I'll be there." He hung up as he put back his phone in his pocket.

Sasuke approached the two girls, quickly grabbing their arms to explain that he was going to take them back to the SNS building when the pink-haired girl grabbed his arm back and twisted it the other way.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" shouted Sakura, almost breaking Sasuke's wrist before she tripped him, sending Sasuke skidding across the floor before he hit a stand of clothes.

* * *

**A/N**: This chapter's a bit shorter than the others; I wanted to update today instead of next week, despite my promise last chapter. 

Heavy thanks to **k.c91**, rock on. Also a bundle of thanks to **Rhed**, who made my day by reviewing all chapters plus adding the story to fav/alerts. I also got more alerts and favs, so thanks to those people who did that.

Rhed's creative story, _Aether Profiles_, and his assurance that Sakura's gonna kick some ass in that story, encouraged me to make Sakura like that in the last scene. I didn't want her to be weak and a crybaby.


	6. Sai

**A/N**: I'm sorry this took a bit longer, but this is a bit longer, I think. So enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I own Microsoft.

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Sai_**

"You didn't have to kill him, Gaara," said Temari, worried. "Now the law enforcement are gonna be asking questions in a few days."

Gaara turned around as he kicked the dead body near the door. "I was in a bad mood and he wasn't behaving too good. No matter, we can cover up his story."

"But what were you asking him to do? Must've been something good." asked his brother Kankuro.

"I was asking him to lure Uchiha and the others so they can finally learn a lesson, but the shitty thing fucking overreacted," replied the crimson brother, as he turned toward the door to exit the room.

"Lure Uchiha?" pointed Temari. "How do we lure Uchiha?"

"Easy," said Gaara as he faced his back on them and smirked. "Just jump one of their friends or their girls, we'll have them walking into the trap in no time." He turned around and looked at Kankuro and Temari. "Kankuro, remember when that girl shouted at Uchiha?"

"Yeah, and?"

"I know Uchiha; he's not the type to stand there and do nothing when he just got shouted at." Gaara left.

* * *

_Friday afternoon._

"Alright, team, assistant coach Iruka will hand out your jerseys that you'll now wear to every practice," declared Ibiki, the basketball coach. "I don't want any complaints about which jersey you'll get. As you all know, the school budget has been going down and we couldn't provide you with new ones, so you guys are going to get the boys' jerseys from last season. Now get to it!" he half-shouted as the twelve girls scrambled to the little table that Iruka was recording.

Sakura had the lead as people pushed her behind her, sending her to the front where Iruka was.

"Haruno Sakura," murmured Iruka, writing something down on his board. "Jersey number seven." He handed her a red-white jersey with matching shorts with a number seven on the back. Iruka muttered something about a certain Uchiha as Sakura walked away. She waited as the rest of the team got theirs, and when all of them were assigned with their jerseys, the twelve teammates found themselves standing and staring at Coach Ibiki and Iruka.

"Well?" asked Ibiki, his voice rising. "You got your jerseys, so get changed in your freakin' locker room! Now get to it!" His voice thundered as he pointed toward the girls' locker rooms. They scrambled toward it, half of them out of fear.

"Dang," said Ino, looking at Ibiki as she risked a glance. The two coaches were talking to each other. "What the hell's wrong with him? Do all coaches have to be _that_ tough?" Sakura chuckled nervously, her inner mind telling her to quit basketball and focus on her other best sport. She closed the ringing inner voice inside her as she and Ino entered the locker room with their teammates.

As they got out of their locker room, all changed into their new jerseys, Ibiki immediately commanded them to jog along the court. Sakura and Ino jogged at a slow pace, like all the others. Ibiki gave them the death glare. He shouted toward Ino, "Moto hayaku!"

"H-hai," stammered Ino as she ran faster with Sakura. For then minutes they jogged, gasping for more air in their lungs. When they finally stopped, Sakura and Ino nearly fell down on the floor, their faces red and sweating due to the heat.

"Oi, Yamanaka! Get up and tell me what a layup is!" shouted their coach.

Ino glared at him. "Watashi sona koto wakarimasen."

Ibiki stared at her. "You're wearing my best shooting guard's jersey and you don't even know what that is?"

"Hai."

The other shook his head, wondering what to do with his team. "Iruka, we need a plan!" he shouted. "This ain't working too good on them."

"Sempai—just teach them how to do it and I think they'll catch on soon enough-"

"Alright, all of you, just jump near a basket and tip your fingers so that the ball will hit the board into the hoop. Capisce?!" Without waiting for an answer, the two coaches headed toward their office- Iruka forcibly being pushed by Ibiki.

"I am never joining basketball ever again," muttered Ino. "This officially sucks."

"Thinking of quitting, Yamanaka?" drawled a familiar, annoying voice. The two turned around to face Sasuke Uchiha's biggest fangirl to date—Karin. "'Cause it'll be way better for the team without your lousy skills—honestly, you don't even know what a _layup_ is?"

"Shut up," said Sakura simply. "Why did you even join, anyway? You don't even care about sports."

Karin looked offended. "I've been practicing for my Sasuke-kun so we can finally be together, he and me, the best players in the-"

"Lemme tell you this straight, bitch," cut in Ino. "Sasuke Uchiha hates you and if you make up rumors about Sakura or try to hurt her again, you're going to be sorry."

"Ooh, sorry huh?" asked Karin mischievously. "I'd like to see you try, Yamanaka. But don't try—my temper might just slip." With that, she walked away to take away a rebound from a teammate. Ino and Sakura looked at each other, the latter frowning as Ino looked furious.

"What did that mean?" asked Sakura.

"Who cares," said Ino, her voice tipping slightly due to anger. "Just an empty threat; she's gonna get it one of these days. I'm going to make her life miserable from now on-"

"No it's okay, Ino-"

"I'm not scared of that tramp-"

"I can handle myself, okay?" Sakura finished with finality. Ino took a deep breath as she picked up two basketballs from the rack. The two proceeded to practice.

Sakura attempted a layup, but the ball reflected off of it and soared toward Karin's head. Involuntarily, she gasped and put her hand on her mouth as she looked at Karin, glaring at her. Sakura attempted a sorry but was blocked by Ino's loud laughter, patting the pink haired girl proudly.

"Nice aim, Sakura," she complimented. "I'm gotta tell this one to Tenten and Hinata…"

* * *

_2 h. 30 minutes later_

Sakura, her body limping and her eyes half closed, walked through the school field—alone with her school uniform not properly done. She and a few others had stayed back with Ibiki and he had them practicing for extra thirty minutes. She was tired all over, her arms were aching and her legs were worse; she wished she hadn't joined the team now. Sasuke's fangirls were staying after school to watch her practice—glaring at her because she unfortunately had received their idol's jersey. _Damn you, Uchiha…_

The sun was showing its final stage of life for the day—and it was getting darker by every step she took. Sakura reached the school entrance and started pacing down the concrete hill the school was set on. She reminded herself she needed to stay awake to walk home safely, and started thinking up of names for the Uchiha she hated so much. _He's an attention seeking asshole that only cares about himself, he pretends to care about me so he can-_

She stopped walking abruptly, listening carefully. When she couldn't hear anything, she started walking again_. He's_ _a self-centered prick who-_

Sakura stopped again; this time sure that she heard something behind her. This time she turned around—and saw four figures approaching her. She couldn't see their faces—it was too dark. "W-what do you want?" she asked, spooked by the shadowy figures. She could feel one of them smirking.

"Obviously, you," spoke up a masculine voice, unfamiliar to her. "We won't hurt you, hon, so don't worry, we gonna take you—Hey! BLOCK her!"

Sakura started running the other way when he had spoken up, but two guys followed her and blocked her quickly. By the looks of it, they did not carry any weapons, maybe some blades.

"Shit," muttered the pink haired-girl as one of them approached behind her. He grabbed her arm forcibly, saying, "No need to resist, it'll only make things harder for you-"

Sakura twisted herself the other way, punching the man—who looked a bit older than her—in the face, harder than he had expected. He fell against the second guy as they both fell onto the ground.

She tripped the next one out of the two that had blocked her, and as he fell, she quickly put on a chokehold on the last guy from behind. Grabbing her arm with her left hand, Sakura tightened her hold as the other three got up and started approaching her.

One of them smirked. "We know you can't kill nobody, girl, so stop-"she tightened her hold again as the man tried to throw her away, the latter choking in the process.

The others started running toward her as Sakura thrust the guy's head into the concrete, the latter losing consciousness right away.

The second one grabbed her collar and raised her up. Sakura quickly intersected her two arms and pushed it down hard, breaking the hold as she kneed him hard. He fell, groaning in pain. She kicked him in the neck several times, this one losing his consciousness as well.

The two others swore as the bigger one put a strong headlock on her. Sakura whimpered at the force, but quickly put her thumb on his pressure point on the neck, pushing as he let go of her due to the pain.

They twisted together, Sakura in front of the guy with her two arms on his shoulders as she kneed him hard like she had to the previous one. He somehow blocked her leg, pushing her hard to the concrete floor, scratching her bare legs.

"You fucking bitch," he said.

Sakura got up quickly, wincing, clutching her leg. He tried a punch on her, Sakura sidestepping just at the right time. She hit the pressure point on his neck as hard as she could, and as he stumbled she kneed him once again before punching him straight in the face.

She pushed him hard toward the last remaining assaulter, who got out of the way. His face lacked confidence, fear being written all over it. The man took out a switchblade, raising it threateningly.

"Step back, you crazy woman," he said, his voice high pitched. When Sakura didn't, he ran toward her, brandishing the knife and going into a stab pose.

Sakura sidestepped as the man tried to stab her, succeeding in a scratch as she grabbed his arm and pushed him aside. She kicked the switchblade away and as the man tried to stand up, Sakura put him in a chokehold with her arms.

"Look here," said Sakura dangerously, although grimacing. She tightened her hold. "You come near me again, I'm not going to be so nice towards you, okay?" He tried to break away from her, gasping for air. She pulled her arms tighter and held it for a minute.

The man lost his consciousness and fell uselessly to the concrete. Sakura swore as she tried to catch her breath, looking at her state. Her arm and her leg were bleeding, and her uniform was a mess, her hair sticking out and sweating heavily.

Her body was aching badly, and all she wanted to do was find a comfy couch and get some extra hours of sleep. She ran, afraid that more of them would come after her, and didn't stop until she reached the main street crowded with people. People were staring at her, bleeding, so she quickly ignored them and turned to the street her condo was on.

Sakura walked quickly, looking back every few seconds to make sure she wasn't followed. She sighed in relief when she didn't see any figures behind her. She reached the stairs to the building.

"Ow," she winced as she felt a pang on her leg, causing her to tip slightly. She took out her keys as she stepped up the stairs and turned left to her room, unlocking the door.

She stepped in her living her room, consisting of a set of couches in the middle with a glass table in the middle with a plasma TV facing it. Several magazines were sprawled on the table, and several posters of tennis players were put up on the walls. Stress balls were all over the room for some reason, and Sakura kicked one of them aside as she threw away her bag.

She reached the cabinet area as she took out a roll of bandages and some ointment. Sakura hissed as she put on the ointment on her leg, feeling it stinging and burning. She did the same to her cut arm before bandaging them.

"Either Karin paid those bastards to do it," she said through gritted teeth. "Or some other gang wanted me as a hostage. No big deal, I can handle them." Sakura thought what her mother would say right now, who was away in Europe. She knew what she'd say: _Call the police. Report the incident._

"Hell no," she said to herself as she shook her head. "They'll ask me stupid questions and all the crap. I hate cops…"

_Or_, her inner mind interrupted. _You could ask Sasuke Uchiha for protection._

"Uchiha?" she asked her alter ego, frowning. "I can handle myself, you know."

_You sure about that, hon?_ asked her inner self. You _did beat the crap out of them today, but I don't think they'll be soft with you the next time._

"I can handle myself," she repeated. "I'm not asking that jerk for anything anytime soon."

_Okay, but think about what I said, Sakura_. Her inner self zoned out and disappeared from Sakura's mind.

"No way am I going to ask Uchiha for anything." She straightened herself up, put the first aid away, and stripped her messed up uniform and threw it away. She put on her pajamas and got on the couch, grabbing a pillow and punching it into a preferable shape. She put her head on it comfortably.

"No way," murmured Sakura as she yawned. A minute later, she was asleep.

* * *

_Next morning_

The pink haired girl got up from her sleep, which to Sakura felt like two minutes. By opening her eyes and getting up slowly, she was met by two things that completely ruined her Saturday morning. For one, she had to close her eyes quickly again because of the blazing sunlight that was coming through the windows; she had forgotten to close the blinds for the night. And for two, every part of her body felt as if knives were piercing every inch of it; the aches had become worse over the night. Sakura tried to get up, but to no avail.

Her usual amiable attitude towards Saturday mornings was suddenly filled up with stress as she picked up a stress ball right below her. She threw it toward a stuffed animal on one of the cabinets, hitting its mark. Sakura looked at the clock—it read eleven o'clock in the morning.

"Great," she muttered. "Now I can't even move." Moving slowly, she got off the couch and slowly changed, taking longer than usual because her arms wouldn't move in certain angles. She cursed at her own inability, reminding that she couldn't end up like this every time she used one of her talents: beating up people when she needed to.

After taking a refreshing shower, she changed into a white blouse and a pair of white denim jeans and walked over to the coffee machine—Sakura needed a sufficient amount of caffeine everyday. As the coffee maker did its job, she thought over what had happened to her yesterday, wondering if she should notify anyone.

_Well_, she thought. _I have to tell somebody; I can't keep them away forever_

She poured the black liquid into a cup, wincing at the considerable amount of weight that was causing her arm much pain. Sakura let go just in time, careful not to spill the coffee. Sakura sighed.

_Just run_, she told herself. _That's what you should do; just run when they come for you._

Finishing her coffee, she put on her white sweatshirt and got her iPod out from the pocket, getting ready to jog. Sakura put her hair in a ponytail. _Who are they anyway?_

She opened the door, feeling the breezy wind on her face. The skies were found with no clouds, and the bright sunlight blurred her surroundings. Adjusting, she put on the shuffle mode and ran down the stairs, and then started jogging along the street. The song _Wannabe_ by Spice Girls suddenly started, Sakura getting a beat.

_It's probably gang stuff_, she thought, shivering. _So cops wouldn't do anything about it…_

Instead of pacing herself, Sakura jogged faster toward the main road. She put away her thoughts about the attack, convinced they weren't targeting her. She turned to the main street, where several people were walking in both ways. Sakura reached the stop, catching her breath. When the sign turned green, she started jogging again. She kept jogging on the street until-

"Ow," she exclaimed as she hit someone in front of her as they both fell down, Sakura on top of the person hit.

"I am so sorry!" said Sakura as she got up quickly. The other figure got up as well, dusting away his clothes.

"No, don't mind," replied a smooth, masculine voice. Sakura looked up, clutching her left arm; it had crushed under her weight when she fell. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man, "Sai?"

"Oh, hey Sakura," greeted Sai cheerfully, one of Sakura's classmates. Although a bit pale, Sai was a head taller than her with dark, short hair; he had the tendency to smile twenty-four seven. "Going for a jog?"

"Yeah," quickly replied Sakura, blushing. "Sorry about that, I wasn't looking-"

"No, it's alright," he said. "You want to take a break or something?" he asked as he moved his head sideways to the Starbucks on the street.

"Um, sure," Sakura replied a bit too quickly. "Yeah, definitely." They entered the shop, Sai opening the door for her. The two were met by the usual noise of numerous conversations at once. The line was empty, however.

"What do you want to drink?" Sai asked.

"The green tea latte," replied Sakura immediately. _Is this some kind of a date?_

"Got it," said Sai. He walked over to order the drinks as Sakura took a seat near the window.

"No way," muttered Sakura quietly. "He's like the next best thing after Uchiha—ew I mean he doesn't have any fangirls, so that's good…" She stopped talking to herself as Sai approached her with her drink and his as well.

"Thanks," she said as he handed her latte.

"No problem," he said. "I ordered the same thing, never tried it before."

"That's nice," said Sakura, her mouth not forming her usual conversational words. She took a sip.

"Is your arm okay?" asked Sai. "I saw you holding it when you fell down. It's not fractured or anything?"

"No, no, it's fine," said Sakura. "It was my fault that I fell down, so don't worry."

"So something _is_ wrong with your arm?"

"No, it just hurts today, I got into a little fight yesterday-"she stopped, then, "I mean I fell-"

"You're a terrible liar, Sakura," said Sai, shaking his head. "Well, if you got into a fight, you could let Sasuke-san know; I heard his dad is the head of TPD."

"Uchiha's dad is the head of the police?" asked Sakura suddenly. "And he gets into fights all the time! I can't believe it, he's practically in a _gang_, and his dad's in the Tokyo Police Department?!"

Sai chuckled at the pink-haired girl's reaction, amused. "Well, yes, but he's not a bad guy-"

"So I've been told," cut in Sakura. "But I can't see what's so great about that guy—he does have the looks but-"

Another voice entered the conversation, familiar yet unfortunately annoying. "Woa, woa, what have we here?"

Naruto Uzumaki, the foxy, blond haired boy came into view, his blue eyes eager with mischief. "You think that teme has looks? That's got be some-"

"What are you doing here, you retard?" asked Sakura, staring at him. "Aren't you supposed to sleep until six in the evening?!"

"Hey!" said Naruto, looking offended. "I'm not like that! FYI, I wake up at like _dawn_, so don't go criticizing about my sleeping habits-"

"Ugh!" Sakura half-shouted, looking a bit disgusted. "This has got to be the worst Saturday ever-"

"Oh," cut in Naruto. "By the way, the teme's going to be here in a few minutes with the rest of us. We gonna eat ramen then race at the drag strip-"

"This is a coffee shop, idiot, not a ramen stand-"

"But teme needs a lot of caffeine, so does Neji, and Lee thinks it's very healthful to start a day in Starbucks. You know Lee; miss an official step of the day and he's punishing himself…"

Sai interrupted, looking at the blond boy. "You guys race?"

"Why? Do you?" Naruto asked, interested.

"Not with bikes though; with cars," he replied.

"You race cars? Nah, that's not me, but teme's brother's got game with it, if you're interested."

Sakura suddenly scoffed. "Uchiha has a brother? I bet he's just like him—arrogant and self-centered."

Naruto, looking irritated, said, "God, what the hell is your problem with him? If you actually try to get to know him-"

"Naruto, that's enough," interrupted a cool voice behind them. "I don't think that's possible, right, Momoihro?" Sasuke Uchiha, with rest of the gang, winked at Sakura as they approached them. Behind him were Neji, Lee, Shino, Kiba (with Akamaru), and Shikamaru.

"It's not Momoihro, jerk," said Sakura as she quickly got up to leave. "Um, sorry, Sai"—she turned toward the said teen—"I gotta go—I can't handle them being even a foot around me."

"The drama queen has to go, clear the way guys," mocked Sasuke as he backed away. The others just shook their heads.

Sakura, glaring at the raven, walked toward him, thinking of giving him a painful push. Before she got there, however, she felt a stinging pang in her leg that she had scratched the other day. Her weight added to the pain as it caused her to yelp.

Sakura swore silently as she fell, grabbing Sasuke's arm for support. Sasuke, due to his fast reflexes, quickly grabbed her other arm to stop them from falling. Sakura stepped on Sasuke's foot in the process, the latter wincing slightly. Sai got up as the others straightened.

"Sorry," muttered Sakura, gaining balance. "L-lost control—ow!"—she clutched her leg as it delivered another round of stinging pain.

Lee stepped up, looking concerned. "Sakura-chan, daijoubu desuka?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Lee—let go of me, Uchiha-"—she struggled at Sasuke's hold, trying to get away. Slowly, Sasuke let go of her.

"Did you fall again?" he asked sarcastically. "Or are you gonna tell me what happened?"

"Yes, I fell," she snapped. "And it's none of your business, Uchiha, so move-"—she pushed him away and walked toward the exit quickly.

Sasuke shook his head. "She doesn't tell me anything these days."

"Yeah, I wonder why," said Naruto sarcastically.

"Do you think Sakura-chan is alright?" asked Lee, big tears in his eyes. "I'll do a thousand push-ups and make a thousand origami swans if that'll make her better-"

"What the hell, Lee, she'll be alright," interrupted Kiba. "Don't waste your time folding paper for her. Seriously." He shook his head.

Sai walked out of the table, looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke-san, she mentioned something about a fight; I think she got hit in the arms too."

The said Uchiha nodded. "Thanks, I'll keep an eye on her."

Sai passed the seven of them to the exit. Shino looked at Sasuke.

"Keep an eye on her?" he asked as he straightened his shades.

"Yeah, I'll do that myself," he replied.

"With pleasure," Naruto added under his breath. Sasuke smacked him on the head.

"Let's go guys, I don't think I'll need caffeine today," he said as he tilted his head toward the exit. "Plus they're gonna wait for us if we don't start soon."

"Aight," replied Shikamaru quickly, going toward the exit at once. "This place is too troublesome," he muttered as he opened the door. The rest of them followed him.

* * *

The four, torn and battered from a beating received from a girl the other day, were kneeled in the same room Gaara had killed the Sand senior few days ago. The said leader of his gang was standing over them, glaring at them with cold eyes. 

"So, you're telling me that the _four_ of you couldn't even handle a single girl?" he asked quietly.

"W-well, she fought back—"

"Everything in life fights back," he cut in dangerously. "But you couldn't bring me _one _girl?"

Gaara kicked the one who spoke hard in the stomach, making him groan as he fell. He kicked him next in the head. "Rest of you, get out," he said.

"H-hai-"—they scrambled as they got up, heading toward the exit of the room. Gaara kicked the remaining man on the floor several more times, and then kicked him hard in the neck. He yelped and lost his consciousness.

Gaara walked away, shaking his head. "Hn, looks like I have to handle this myself…"

* * *

**A/N**: This chapter included one of my favorite scenes from this story so far. And how come Sakura knows how to fight? Yeah you'll have to wait for that... 

Today it snowed like crazy and I had to plow our driveway, and I fell and slid on ice. That really hurt and my leg's scratched badly—which inspired me of the injury in this chapter.

Ja, sayonara


	7. Shot

**A/N**: This is my longest yet.

Let's get some facts straight if you have forgotten, including me. If you have any questions/requests, please mail it to the HaruAaki studio with a 5 dollar stamp or through the FedEx Express system.

**Momoihro** means **peach**-color, and Sasuke calls Sakura that and she gets pissed off because she's Sakura. I tried to do it with Sakura-ihro or Sakura-unbo but that was too long and that's her name so…

Sasuke's gang has **7** members: Himself, Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, Neji, and Lee. His gang does not have an official name but is referred simply as the "**Uchiha**." Itachi broke away from Akatsuki, and Shisui is his best friend. Their teachers are from the **Sannins**' gang.

Gaara's gang is named **Sand.**

Sasuke and the others are currently **aged 19/20**, and have finished high school. The high school flashbacks are taken in their **second** year at Konoha High. The third year is the last one in Japan. And obviously Sakura hates Sasuke.

SNS stands for **Sky Nuclear System**. **Konoha** is located in **Tokyo**, but is **fictional**. Sasuke's dad is the head of the Police Department of Tokyo and the top prosecutor in the nation. Mikoto works for the office of Homeland Security of Japan. The organizations are fictional.

**Disclaimer**: OMG EVERYBODY MASASHI KISHIMOTO JUST SENT ME A LETTER SAYING THAT HE WILL GIVE ME THE WHOLE NARUTO WORLD AND ITS CHRACTERS SO IN YOUR FACE IM THE OWNER OF NARUTO NOW—**no**.

* * *

A redheaded boy sat on his chair, as a girl opposite him was standing, telling him something of importance to the boy on the other side. 

A ruby eyed girl, with matching hair, looked into the Sand's leader's eyes. Gaara could tell she hated the girl he was dealing with, and she was ready to tell him the whole truth. "That bitch's name is Haruno Sakura," she began with distaste. "Uchiha Sasuke has had a crush on her since he entered middle school, but she hates him for some reason I don't know. Sasuke would probably do anything to get her—"

"So that's why he couldn't talk back when she told him off?" asked Gaara.

"Probably; she's the only girl that Sasuke talks with, beside her friends."

"Then it's confidential that Uchiha will be pissed off once we're done with her?"

"I'm sure of it," she replied.

"Alright then," said Gaara, standing up from his chair of his massive living room. "You've been helpful, Karin, we're in your debt." He left his living room, toward upstairs where he would inform his brother and sister of his intended action.

* * *

_**At the cafe**_

"Teme," began Naruto, looking at Sasuke as they all got out of the coffee shop. "Didn't you tell me you didn't want Sakura-chan to hate you, so why do you act like that around her?" The rest of the gang looked up in interest—they all knew Sasuke and Sakura weren't in the best relationship to each other since… ever.

Sasuke looked at Naruto, pocketing his hands into his jeans. He sighed. "We've been through this, Naruto. It's not _me_, okay? It's her; I don't even know why she acts like that to me." He shrugged the subject off as they got into their bikes, all parked in the sidewalk.

"Yeah, okay," muttered Naruto, full sarcasm in his voice. His voice went unheard through the heavy traffic noise.

* * *

_**Flashback, Year 1 (1**__**st**__** grade)**_

"Welcome to Konoha Elementary, young learners," began a kind-faced man with a short ponytail, named Iruka. He was beginning his teaching career this year, and was very much hoping that he was given an easy class to deal with.

"Now, boys and girls, we have to get you into your groups; so, let's see..."—he looked at his clipboard, listed with his students—"Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and…Yamanaka Ino, you'll be Table 1." A girl with long, blond hair groaned.

Iruka kept assigning seats to until the last and seventh table was the only one empty. He looked up from his clipboard to witness two boys and a girl still standing. A foxy, blond boy with a stupid grin on his face was looking eager. Next to him was a raven-haired boy with matching eyes, his face stoic. The last one, a girl with blush-rose hair, looked nervous.

"Ah, alright, Table 7, head your way," Iruka directed as the three headed toward their table. The trio took a seat, Naruto girnning as usual. Sasuke remained stoic as Sakura took a seat beside them.

"Alright, junior learners, you can introduce yourselves to your classmates at your table! That would be the objective for the first class." Iruka-sensei sat on his chair near his desk, typing something on his computer.

"Hajimemashite! Yoroshiku! What's your name?" asked Naruto cheerfully toward Sakura.

Sakura looked taken aback that he had spoken to her. "Um, my name's Sakura—"

"Is your hair color natural?" asked Sasuke suddenly, arrogant. "Or is it dyed?"

Sakura frowned. "It's… natural. No, it's not dyed."

"Is that even possible?" Sasuke asked, raising his eyebrows. Sakura's eyes twitched in annoyance; she had begun a liking to his looks but now his attitude was testing her temper.

"Well," said Naruto cheerily. "My name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." He gave her thumbs up. Sakura smiled uncertainly as she turned to Sasuke, who sighed and started running his hands through his straight bangs.

"My name's Uchiha Sa—"

"Did I ask?" cut in Sakura coldly. "And I don't care."

Naruto stared at her with his mouth wide open, admiring her retaliation. No girl ever talked to Sasuke Uchiha like that—ever. He chuckled nervously as he looked at Sasuke's reactions; the Uchiha as frowning slightly, taken aback by the girl's words. He stared at Sakura, the latter staring back at him with equal intensity. He shrugged it off as Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Er… well my favorite food is ramen," started Naruto as Sasuke groaned. "My favorite colors are blue and yellow, my favorite singer is Utada Hikaru, my favorite trait is relentlessness, and"—he looked at the other two, who were glaring at each other daggers, apparently not listening to what he was saying.

"Er, so do you have any siblings?" asked Naruto, looking at Sakura, trying to get rid of the tense moment.

"Yes, I do. I have four older brothers," replied Sakura, not taking her eyes off of Sasuke.

Naruto whistled. "How old are they?"

"The oldest one is…6 years older than me."

"Woa, teme," he nudged Sasuke. "You'd better be careful, don't want to get them after your back."

"Hn."

* * *

Naruto started the engine, reminiscing the days.

* * *

_**Flashback, Year 3**_

Sasuke, this time a bit older, walked into the science classroom, his face looking smug. His six other friends looked up as he entered the room; they had been friends since their second year at Konoha Elementary.

"Yo, what's up, teme?" Naruto asked. "Shika just finished doing our homework for us—you didn't give me your paper—"

"Troublesome," the genius murmured as he finished mimicking Naruto's hand writing, which had been a challenge.

"I didn't need to," Sasuke smirked, taking out a piece of paper. Naruto gasped.

"You actually did your homework?" he asked, shocked.

"No, dobe, Momoihro dropped it so I picked it up," he answered. "She didn't put her name on it so, whatever." Sasuke put his name at the top. The rest of his gang shook their heads while Naruto looked concerned. Sasuke looked up. "By the way, before you shout at me for not do I tried to give it back to her, but I ended up getting yelled at." He passed it to the bin where the teacher had them put their assignments. They tried to look innocent, the raven especially, when the said girl with pinkish hair entered the room, apparently panicking.

She looked around the room, her eyes searching for someone—it stopped when she saw Sasuke. Sakura narrowed her eyes, walking toward him. "Uchiha, have you seen my assignment that Mizuki-sama gave us?"

Sasuke sighed in mock exasperation. "I tried to give it back to you, but you just had to ignore me—"

"Well, give it back," she said forcibly. She added, "Please."

"Too late, I handed it in," he replied. "With my name on it, so get over it—"

"Do you know how much I worked on that, you bastard?" she asked quietly, gritting her teeth. "Do you know that I put all of me into that?"

Smirking, he said, "No, I don't know and I don't care." Sakura's face became flushed with fury, her hands turning into fists. She reminded herself that no good deed goes unpunished and that she would just get over it. She counted three in her head and walked away, sitting in the front.

The rest of Sasuke's gang continued on what they were doing—but Naruto, who was frowning, stared at Sakura's back, confusion in his eyes.

* * *

The seven of them cut into the busy street at once, Sasuke in the lead.

* * *

_**Flashback, Year 7**_

Sasuke sat on mountainous rock, observing the school entrance from the top, looking around for a certain pink in the Friday afternoon. Naruto, his best friend, was entertaining himself with killing ants with a magnifying glass. "Teme, you know she's gonna turn you down, so stop looking for her and let's play some hoops with—"

"Oi, Momoihro!" shouted Sasuke, having spotted Sakura with her three other friends, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino. He ignored Naruto's groan and slid down the slope, walking toward the pink haired girl. Sakura groaned and looked at him.

"It's not Momoihro, and what do you want, Uchiha?" asked Sakura exasperatedly. "You made my day miserable already so what the hell do you want? You got me into detention just for the kicks—"

"That's because you left your phone on. Sakura, do you want to go out with me?" asked Sasuke, running through his hair and putting on his seducing look, wondering if it would work. Sakura, in turn, put on a sheepish smile and approached Sasuke.

"Aw, Sasuke," she said his name in a sweet tone. Then her face changed into a glare. She said slowly, in a different tone, "I'd rather; Kill. Myself." Next she pushed him away and walked down the hill. "By the way, I don't know how you got my number but stop calling me."

"Come on," she said to the three other girls, Tenten and Ino gaping open mouthed; Hinata didn't look as surprised. They still stood where they had been, but quickly followed Sakura who was walking farther away from them.

Naruto whooped. "What did I tell you, teme!?" he shouted from top of the rock. He slid down the rocky slope and walked to Sasuke, the former shaking his head.

"She's probably dying inside," murmured Sasuke, expressionless. Naruto snorted as they walked back to the school field, looking for the others. He muttered something that sounded like "Yeah, dying probably," before stopped by the raven's glare. They spotted Lee doing a three point shot, yelling something about doing fifty laps if he missed.

"Yosh!" he shouted, having made the basket. "Since I have made it, I'll make it seventy-five laps around the field! Yes, Gai-sensei would be proud of me right now!" The rest of the gang sweat dropped, Neji muttering, "Sanity…"

"Hey, guys!" Naruto shouted, looking eager to blurt out the news. "Guess what? Sasuke got turned down by Sakura-chan!" The rest of them stared at him, giving him a "So?" look. Naruto looked disappointed at the lack of anticipation. "Did you hear me, the teme got turned down by—"

"—Haruno," finished Shikamaru. "Yeah, troublesome that you actually had to be there to see it; even Lee here could see through that one"—he passed the ball to Kiba, only to have it stolen by Shino, who risked a shot. Lee whooped as it went in.

"Ah, the perfect view of a perfect basket—one of the things the rising generation should appreciate—"

"Shut, up, Lee," cut Neji, looking a bit pissed that they had lost. "We got Sasuke next—"

"Nope, he's heart-broken," announced Naruto, putting on a mock pout. "He can't stand her turning him down, so I don't think he can play—"

"If Sakura-chan has turned down Sasuke-san, then I will do hundred and fifty laps for her! I will only get one hour of sleep each day and I will work three times as harder—"

"Shut up!" half-shouted Neji, having heard Lee's rant too much in his life, and fully knowing that they were true to the words. Sasuke didn't say a word as Neji threw him the ball, Shikamaru getting out of it due to his laziness.

* * *

They arrived at the drag strip quickly, the seven of them getting out to greet the owner, a racer himself. 

"Doing good, eh, Uchiha?" asked the racer in an undershirt, but looking not so tough. "I see your gang's in top shape…"

* * *

_**Flashback, Year 9**_

In the driveway of Sasuke's house, Naruto and the raven haired teen was playing basketball—yet again. Naruto had met Sasuke in preschool, where he learned that the former was an orphan because both his parents had died and left him in an orphanage. That summer, Sasuke had offered him to live with him, since the house was already too big for a single individual.

Naruto had accepted with enthusiasm, and had left the orphanage despite the fact that he wasn't eighteen yet. The rest of the gang would come in and frequently stay over due to the luxurious level of the house. Since then, the Naruto had been craving for more ramen, the stand being just a block from them.

"You know," he said as he attempted a layup. "I'm going to make business with Ichiraku's, maybe set it up in New York, London, and maybe Paris. Oh, and Melbourne and Sydney"—he was blocked by Sasuke arm. He regained position, dribbling the ball twice quickly before faking left and then shooting a jump shot. He missed and Sasuke brought it back, moving to the side.

He sighed at the yet another comment on Naruto's ambition, closing his eyes and turning away from the basket. He tipped his hand over, the ball traveling slowly before it went through the net.

"Show off," muttered Naruto as he fell down on the grass driveway, gasping for air.

"Dobe, it's called skills."

"Hmph," said Naruto, looking at the sky and catching his breath. "Teme, can I ask you a question?"

"Hn,"

"If you like Sakura-chan, then why do you annoy her so much?" he asked, looking at Sasuke who sat on the steps to his porch.

Sasuke sighed again. "Because," he said. "I can't help it. When she's mad, she's just so…cute." He shifted and stared at the row of houses on the other side of the street.

"Heh, never heard that one before," said Naruto, smirking. "But you know, if you keep doing that she's never going to like you—"

"Yeah, dobe, and since when have you been giving me advice on my love life?"

"Just stating the obvious…" Naruto got up, smiling weirdly. "Oh by the way, I'm going for a bowl or two of ramen, gotta fill up…" He walked out of their driveway, then pacing before running full speed toward the next block.

* * *

"Got the dirt track just this week"—Idate, the racer, pointed at the hilly, overly terrestrial strip.

* * *

_**Flashback, Year 11**_

Gaara stood up, started approaching toward his attacker with a loathing look. Sasuke smirked at him, and was about to charge on him when-

"Stop it!" A girl, about a head shorter than Sasuke with pink hair with, stepped between them, looking at Sasuke with her fiery yet emerald eyes. He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Haruno, you can't have welcomed his appearance here, so why-"

"Sasuke, I think you're no better than him. Actually, I _know_ that you're no better than him! You pick stupid fights just for the kicks of it. If you went to their school, I bet you would've done the same exact thing as him! You could have reported them to Sarutobi-sensei, but no, you have to go fight them-"

"And leave you to them?" retorted Sasuke.

"He wouldn't have done a thing to me! You know one thing that I can't stand to watch, Sasuke? A fight! And you and the others probably do it every other day-"

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke's not like that-" defended Naruto.

"You stay out of this, Naruto! It goes the same for you, anyway," she looked back at Sasuke, her eyes still piercingly livid. "I don't get what other girls see in you! To me, you're just an arrogant show-off that just demands attention!"

She walked off, Ino patting her sympathetically.

_**After detention**_

"Hey, teme!" slurred Naruto. "You haven't said anything since three hours ago. What's up-"he tripped again.

Sasuke wasn't paying attention. His head was focused on the ground below him, his bangs covering his face. Despite his posture, he walked perfectly as Naruto attempted to catch up to him, tipping slightly.

"Is this about Sakura?" Naruto asked. "C'mon, she always insults you when even when you're _around_ her. I mean, she practically hated you from Day 1, so what's the problem-"

Sasuke glared at him. "You think I want her to hate me?" he asked, turning toward him. "Do you think I want her to shout at me every time I get detention or every time we get into a fight?"

"Teme, why do you care? You two were never really friends, so why do you even bother?" asked Naruto curiously, wondering what had caused his best friend to act like this.

Sasuke shook his head. "Never mind, Naruto…" He walked off, his bangs shadowy and pitch-black as he walked down the hill quickly.

Naruto tried to catch on to his friend's fast pace, but was held back, walking slowly like a drunken man. "I…need…Red…Bull…or…Ichiraku's…r….ramen…" He stepped on a pebble, cursing then kicking it away from him.

Naruto turned around, walking through the already dark street, thinking of his favorite ramen on the way to Ichiraku's. He heard something right beside him, but ignored it, thinking it was his imagination.

"…Naruto," repeated the voice.

"Huh? God?" He turned around, facing Sakura, the very one that had shouted at him just this afternoon. She shook her head, smiling slightly.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, hey," he replied awkwardly. "Ne, do you wanna go for a bowl of ramen?"

"Um…sure," she replied, walking beside him. They were quiet for a few minutes, before turning to the street of Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

She suddenly began, "Naruto, sorry about earlier, I know that guy from Sand was being a jerk, and I know you two were only helping—"

"Hm, I don't mind, but better tell the teme, he was sulking when he left from detention—"

"Do you know," she said quietly. "Why I hate fights so much?"

Naruto guessed as they neared the ramen stand, "Because…we can get hurt?"

She laughed bitterly. "Partly; but that's not all. My dad…he got killed trying to stop a gang fight; T-that was before I met you and Uchiha—well he was in a gang himself, but more of a lawful one, the ones that do the right thing"—her voice cracked a bit.

"Here," said Naruto, putting a hand on her back and leading her to the stand, where, for a rare occasion, the seats were empty. "Maybe some Miso Ramen would cheer you up—it always does for me."

"Y-yeah, thanks…"

"No problem." The two both sat, waiting for—

"Ah, there's the old man," said Naruto with a big grin.

Teuchi, the owner and head chef of the infamous ramen bar, greeted them with enthusiasm. "Irashaii! Ah, Naruto again, eh?"—his head turned to Sakura—"And a girlfriend of yours, I assume?"

"She's not my girlfriend," said Naruto flatly, turning a bit red. "A close friend of mine."

Teuchi, apparently unconvinced, said, "Well, alright, have it your way; the usual, I'm guessing?"

"Yep, your best one so far," replied Naruto, referring to his favorite ramen.

"Mhm, coming right up!" The chef disappeared to the side, where he usually prepared his ramen.

"Hm, you seem to be close to him," commented Sakura. She stared into the wall, a far-away look in her eyes. Naruto looked at her.

"Yeah, I used to come here since preschool, before I met any of you guys," said Naruto, smiling. Sakura tried to smile, but ended up sighing.

"What's up, Sakura?" asked Naruto. "I know teme fights all the time, but he's not worth the—"

"I'm not wearied because of Uchiha, Naruto; it's just that he annoys me so much and does things that reminds me of my dad," said Sakura, a bit loudly. "I mean, he's all cocky and doesn't care about what other people think—oh and don't start about getting to know him and all that crap; I really would, but it's practically impossible to stay in the same room and not end up killing each other or something." She put her hands on her hair, frustrated. "And his fangirls, they hate me because I have his stupid jersey and he keeps asking me out every week—"

"Huh? You have teme's jersey? Who has mine?" asked Naruto eagerly.

Sakura sighed hopelessly. "Are you a shooting guard? Because I think Ino has yours…"

Naruto cursed. "Damn, that pig has my jersey? That jersey is like so genuine, there's no other jersey like that."

"Anyway," interrupted Sakura. "Let's not let your A.D.D. interfere; and do me a favor and answer my question, Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Does Uchiha ever date anyone?" asked Sakura with distaste.

"Um, yeah if you say yes this Saturday—"

"Tell him to stop asking me and move on with some other slut that's waiting in the line—"

"Hey, the teme has morals you know! And to be honest, he likes you because you don't treat him like those fangirls; he likes you 'cause you see him for who he is. And you know why he always speaks in a monotone and has that same look on his face most of the time in school?—that's 'cause he doesn't want to deal with all the fangirls—but he never acts like that around you."

Sakura, not listening, looked at her watch and groaned. "Shannaro! I gotta go, Naruto, I promised my mom I'll call her at six-thirty"—she got up from the chair. She looked at Naruto's quizzical look. "Oh, she's in Europe because she's monitoring my brothers—they're in a dojo competition, you see; they're coming back soon for the semifinals here, I think…"

"Is that why you're so vigorously strong, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto tactlessly, not thinking at all. "You know, with all your brothers and all the dojo stuff."

A vein popped out of Sakura's head, a provoked and wrathful glint in her eyes. She turned her eyes to Naruto dangerously, saying slowly, "I'm…not…strong!" She smacked him on the head hard.

"Ow!" cried out Naruto, clutching his head. "I was saying the facts you know!"

"Whatever. Later, Naruto," said Sakrua, leaving the ramen bar.

Teuchi came by just as Sakura disappeared behind the blinds, two ramen bowls in his hands. He gave Naruto a knowing look. "Hmm, ditched again, Naruto? But you always end up eating both bowls, so here you go"—he put down the bowls in front of Naruto, who looked at it preciously.

"Thanks, old man!" exclaimed Naruto, but thinking, _Sakura should really have tried this…_

* * *

"So, Uchiha, you wanna try it out? I'll show you some game today," he nudged his head at the course, looking at Sasuke with a smirk. Sasuke nodded subtly, enough to get the racer, Idate, to start his motorcycle. "You know, my bro's bein' tellin' me too much things about you, Uchiha, and I wanna pay you back for the last time." 

"Hn," said Sasuke as he started the engine, and moved it on the starting line.

"A full mile," said Idate, nodding. "Four times around the raceway…"

"Heh, coach's little brother seems confident enough," said Neji, crossing his arms. "Nara, what do you think?"

"It means he's got something up his sleeve—but don't worry, I've got it covered, just updated Sasuke's bike last night," the genius said, looking bored. "There's about zero percent chance Sasuke's gonna lose…"

Other raised their eyebrows, wondering what Shikamaru had put in Sasuke's bike, except Shino, who was looking amused. "Hmm, so you weren't kidding, Shikamaru?"—he looked at the others as the latter ones turned their gaze at him—"I painted the blue highlights on his bike last night so yeah." He shrugged.

"Alright, alright, ladies, we don't want any dirty racing," announced Naruto, snapping out of his flashbacks. He went to the start line, where Idate and Sasuke was lined up in parallels, and put an arm across. "But boosts are okay, but we don't want our delicate ladies to get burned—"

"Shut up, dobe," cut the raven as Idate smirked.

"Whatever, teme," he whistled and lifted his arm up quickly before the two started to accelerate rapidly, cutting into the dirt track. Sasuke began to lead, Idate right behind his tail. About two seconds later, Idate's bike screamed as it let out a blue ray of nitrogen—

"What the hell?" shouted Kiba, stopping his usual habit of petting Akamaru for a moment. "Where did he get that?! He's in the lead now!"

"Stop idolizing that Idate, inu person," said Naruto. "Sasuke's not gonna lose because of some nitrogen oxide." He grabbed a radar as Shikamaru through him one.

Shikamaru sat on the concrete ground, away from the track, and stared at the clouds. "Just measure Sasuke's speed at the finish line." With that he observed the white nimbus clouds, tilting his head slightly to get a different angle of view.

Idate gained more speed, and as they passed the half line of the raceway, their bikes screeched as they entered a serious turn; Idate used another blast as they neared a curving hill, right before the finish line; Sasuke maneuvered his bike to the sloping side and disappeared, before appearing a bit behind Idate. They crossed the finish line.

"Three more laps to go!" exclaimed Lee, his eyes wide with pride. "If Sasuke-san has enough skills to beat Idate-san, then I will show Gai-sensei that I can race 300 kilometers per hour in a curving raceway—"

"Shut up, Lee, that's impossible," interrupted Neji, his arms still crossed. "Stick with push-ups."

Naruto began. "I will laugh on teme's face if he crashes when he does a three-sixty at the finish line—"

Idate used his last boost as he led Sasuke by 30 feet. Sasuke smirked as he accelerated smoothly, traveling through the narrow slope at the curve; Idate gained maximum speed as they went through the hill, rushing past the finish line.

"Two more…"

The young Uchiha leaned against the handle slightly as he chased Idate—the raven would usually have the lead if not for Idate's boost—but he got closer and then about ten feet behind him—then a five—

"Suman-na, Idate," murmured Sasuke as he neared the opposing racer. He moved to Idate's right side, traveling in parallels. Then he pretended to crash against Idate's bike, the latter slowing down rapidly. Sasuke smirked as he maneuvered himself into a circle around Idate—

"What the fuck—"Idate stopped as Sasuke rushed past his front, making a circle around the former before shooting straight through the track—gaining the lead.

"Hm, whatever," said Idate, regaining his composure. "This'll probably burn the engine…" He let out a green flash as his bike smoked through the wind, rushing past Sasuke and kept its momentum for at least fifteen seconds—

"Last lap," said Naruto, eager. "Lose, teme, lose, teme, lose, teme…"

Sasuke, about fifteen feet behind Idate, cursed but kept going through the dirt track, screeching through the curve—then the curving hill—nearing the finish line for the last time—

BANG! A jet flash of red and gold shot past the raceway as Sasuke traveled at light speed—the wheels digging through the ground, the back of his bike literally burning.

He went past Idate with a blast before reaching the finish line, turning then doing a three sixty as his bike spaded deep across the ground backwards. His wheels screeched as it emit burning flames, dust flying all over and silhouetting Sasuke's shape.

"Whoop!" shouted Kiba, his eyes wide as Akamaru barked continuously.

"Holy shit! That's 540 kilometers per hour! What the hell did you put in his engine, Nara?!" shouted Naruto, looking at the radar to the lazy genius Shikamaru, who was still looking at the clouds.

"Troublesome I have to explain; you put hydrogen in there and a drop of uranium; got it, dobe?" Shikamaru got to his feet, dusting his pants. "Ever heard of the Hindenburg?"

"No," said Naruto cluelessly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, joining the others clapping Sasuke in the back. Lee was full of tears, admiring Sasuke's skills. "If I cannot master that circling move in 3 days I will run 400 laps a day before I can forgive myself! Yes, Gai-sensei, I will do exactly do—"

"Shut up, Lee!" groaned Neji as Idate approached them.

"Seems like you're too good to beat, eh, Uchiha?" he said, putting his hand on his hair and smiling like a little kid. "That might've burned your engine though; it was more like an explosion than anything else…"

"Nah," spoke up Shikamaru, putting his hands behind his head and stretching. "I made sure it wouldn't burn through."

"Heh, well, we got more guys in the line. Anyone else?"

"Right here!" shouted Kiba, putting Akamaru down. The little white dog barked defiantly. "Now, now, Akamaru, I don't want you to get hurt while I race…" He started the engine with enthusiasm as Akamaru pouted.

Naruto approached the lazy genius, patting him on the back. "Nice work, Nara, but I heard touching uranium can cause skin cancer and all that crap—"

"Then I'll die early, no big deal, you dobe," he said lazily, leaning on his own bike.

The rest observed as Kiba got ready to race, his opponent named Kentaro stepping in.

_**That afternoon**_

"I am so tired!" groaned Naruto, stretching as Sasuke and he got out of the foxy boy's favorite ramen bar, Ichiraku's. The two had stopped there for a bowl of ramen—for Naruto, for Sasuke never ate and just sat there to wait for his friend. Naruto sighed as the slight breeze through the late afternoon swooshed past his always optimistic yet childish face. "That was the best! We destroyed them; did you see that leap I did?" He went on complimenting his own moves as Sasuke barely listened, walking toward a park that would lead them to the back of their house.

"Teme, you thinking about doing a rally?"

"Dobe, rallies are so boring, why would I want to do a rally?"

"Cause! Tokyo's a pretty good spot to rally around, with all the traffic and all…You always do track land speeds…" He rambled on about what Sasuke should do, the latter catching words like "dattebayo" ever so often. When they neared the entrance of the park the two noticed a figure jogging toward their way, getting bigger by every step they took.

"Teme, look, it's Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, nudging his stoic friend. Sasuke grunted nonchalantly. "Teme, you should go apologize, maybe show her the good side of you—"

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, motioning the girl that so despised fights and the young Uchiha.

Sakura took a glance as she slowed down reluctantly, groaning slightly. She had on a white hoodie and matching pants, taking out her iPod, well an iTouch to be exact, and stopping the music for a moment. "Naruto, what do you want now?"

"Oh, just an apology from both of us that we will never fight again, or hurt anyone, because people deserve to live their lives without being harassed by us—"

"Soh, soh, that's gonna happen," she started the music again and jogged away quickly.

"Oi, Haruno, you wanna go out with me?" shouted Sasuke, just out of habit.

She ignored him and paced herself out of the park.

"That's a no?"

"Dobe, what do you think?

* * *

_**Next morning**_

Yet again, the pinked haired girl jogged along a street near the highway, where it was a row of fancy three-story houses with a huge front lawn and backyards. Sakura was taking a shortcut to meet her three other friends, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten, who has insisted they go shopping. She still had an hour left to get to the rendezvous location, and she, the jogging freak that she is, started jogging around her neighborhood that morning.

Sakura noticed a few houses away that several kids were shouting commands and playing the game of basketball, the sport she had a certain aversion for these days. She ran past a road that had intersected with the current street and slowed down, catching her breath. She sat on a nearby bench, right under a tree that left her in the shadows. Sakura looked at the kids playing with mild curiosity; she looked closely behind them and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Four boys, all of them around elementary ages, passed around the basketball on a two-on-two game, their parents watching from the front porch of the gigantic house. They were playing in the very driveway of Sasuke Uchiha's, and Sasuke himself was watching closely behind them. He had taken the job of coaching the little tykes basketball every morning on the weekends.

The hyperactive one, Konohamaru, got the ball as his partner Naoto passed it to him, and tried to dribble past the opposing couple, Tsubasa and Takumi. He performed a drive past Tsubasa but was blocked by Takumi.

"Yo, Konohamaru, right here!" shouted Naoto, signaling that he was open. The said boy ignored him and tried to jab his feet against Takumi, only to have the ball knocked out of his hands. Takumi back passed the ball to Tsubasa as he performed a jump shot, barely missing the basket.

"Alright, stop right there!" shouted Sasuke with an air of authority. He walked into the huge driveway, approaching the angry faced boy who was stomping his foot against the concrete. "Konohamaru, Naoto was open for you, you could've passed it to him."

Konohamaru mumbled something under his breath, "He'll drop it probably."

"Ah, so you don't trust him, huh?" asked Sasuke. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "Alright all of you, get into position, you're playing against me."

Confused looks on their faces, Sasuke passed the ball to Takumi, who started dribbling and then passing it to Tsubasa. He then passed it to Konohamaru, who then drove past Naoto to attempt a layup. He jumped slightly—only to have it easily blocked by Sasuke's hand, knocking the ball toward Naoto.

Konohamaru backed up as he took the ball away from Naoto, trying another layup, again the ball knocked off by Sasuke's hand.

"Kuuso!" cursed Konohamaru. He chased the ball and dribbled past the other three, this time going for a jump shot. He was blocked by Sasuke, and he attempted a fake shot while his whole team was open, then had it knocked out by Sasuke yet again.

"See?" said Sasuke. "You're good, Konohamaru, but basketball isn't about only you. Basketball is five guys, well four right now, playing as a team and you can't get a point if you don't cooperate. Now try to pass it. Trust them." He let Konohamaru get the ball.

"Hai," said the boy reluctantly. He started to dribble and passed it back to Takumi, who then passed it to Tsubasa. Tsubasa short passed it to Konohamaru, who approached near the basket. Sasuke started to block him.

"I said, pass it," said Sasuke with patience.

Konohamaru stopped his pace as he passed it back to Naoto, and as Sasuke tried to block him he passed it to Tsubasa who passed it to Takumi as Sasuke tried to block their passes. Takumi stepped through Sasuke luckily as he passed it to Konohamaru, who then made a perfect side shot. The other three whooped.

"That's basketball," said Sasuke as he tapped Konohamaru's head, smiling at his frowning face mixed with wonder, embarrassment, and uncertainty. They had been playing for thirty minutes so far; and the four gasped for oxygen as they collapsed onto the grassy lawn, sweat coming down their red faces. The parents came down the porch, three mothers and the principal of Konoha High School, also known as the grandfather of boy that had just learned how to pass.

"As expected, Sasuke," he complimented. "That's some community service and that'll wipe out your whole record of fights, tardiness, missing homework, and—"

"You mean this boy has been getting into all that trouble?" asked Naoto's mother. "I don't believe a word of it, Sarutobi-sensei, I have never seen a better moral mind in my life."

"Yes, I totally agree," said Tsubasa's mother. "You're sure you don't want any payment for this, Uchiha-san?"

"No, I couldn't," downplayed Sasuke. "And please call me Sasuke."

"Time to go home, Takumi," called his mother, smiling. The boy pouted and said, "I wanna live with Sasuke-nii-san over here. He's the best coach I've ever had in my life." The others agreed, the parents smiling amusedly.

"Guys," said Sasuke. "Let's get up or I won't—"

"Hai!" They all got up, including Konohamaru. Sarutobi gave the Uchiha prodigy an approving look as Konohamaru walked to him.

"Old man, I'm going to beat Sasuke-nii-chan one day"—he turned around to face the young Uchiha—"Can Naruto coach us with you too?" he asked.

"Probably, the dead last wakes up at like 5 o'clock…" Konohamaru smirked at the thought of Naruto and walked away from Sasuke's house with Sarutobi, all four and their guardians walking toward the bench where Sakura was sitting. She was staring at the raven haired teen, having an argument with her alter ego.

_Did he just handle coaching those kids?_

_That's what I saw, honey, _her inner self said.

_But he was so nice! If he was coaching I'd think he would probably sit there and just tell them off—_

_That's not what I saw_, her inner interrupted.

"Oh, hello there, Sakura," said Sarutobi, smiling. Sakura snapped out of her mental argument as she stood up rapidly.

"O-ohayo gozaiimasu, Sarutobi-sama!" She turned her gaze to the much wrinkled, old, but yet very nice principal of Konoha High as she bowed lamely. Konohamaru smirked at this.

"Hehhh, you're the o-neh-chan that Naruto had crush on a long time ago! The one that nearly beat the crap out of him too—the one that's really strong but doesn't like to admit it—"

Sakura bonked him in the head, forgetting for a moment that Sarutibi-sama was there, but the latter just chuckled, amused. "Now, Konohamaru, you don't want her after your tail, do you…Well see you around, Sakura." He nodded as he led the boy, who was clutching his head and grimacing slightly, the other way, away from her and Sasuke's house.

Having no reason to sit around anymore, she supposed the safest way to go was through Sasuke, since jogging past the Principal of her school sounded too disrespectful. She walked toward the driveway, fully expecting the Uchiha to say something that would probably annoy her or something that would just satisfy himself.

She braced herself for the comment, but it didn't come. Sakura frowned as she walked past his driveway, looking back if Sasuke had left. He didn't—he was looking at her blankly, and she gazed at him for several moments. She frowned again,

"You didn't say anything," she commented, turning back and then walking to the driveway.

"Hn."

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked.

"Do I have to every time I see you now?" asked Sasuke, raising his eyebrows.

"No…just got used to it over the years…" She shifted, trying to get rid of the weird tension between them, which usually never happened. Sakura started fidgeting, staring at her hands, resembling one of her best friends who always had a habit of doing that when she was nervous. "Um…Sasuke, I thought about the day when I shouted at you at the school field…and I know that the guys from Sand High were being jerks and annoying me, I got pissed off that you were protecting me and you just fought that guy right away. I know that you aren't beating up people just for fun, like you did in middle school."—she paused for a second—"I'm…partly sorry for shouting at you. Gomen."

Sasuke stood up, picking up the basketball on the concrete floor and passing it to her. She caught it just in time, looking at him with a confused face. Sakura didn't know why she apologized—she had every right to shout at him, which she did ever so often and too many to count, but something about that brotherly look when he taught Konohamaru basketball said something else about him—something about him that Sakura didn't get to witness at all in her life.

"Haruno, you're in the basketball team, ne?" asked Sasuke, expressionless. She nodded a yes.

"Well, let me see you playing it; you were looking at me"—Sakura shook her head as he said it; Sasuke smirked slightly—"oh right, you were looking at me coaching them; you gotta have something in basketball—Ibiki's acceptance rate is like zero practically..."

Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing that she didn't have anything in basketball. She approached toward the basket, the basketball in her hand.

"Hey, that's traveling," pointed out Sasuke lightly. "A very _bad_ one at that."

Sakura stuck her tongue out, then looked toward the basket, and then risked a shot. It hit the ring and bounced out toward Sasuke. "You form is wrong, that's obvious. You're not focusing either."

"This isn't real basketball, Uchiha—"

"That's the spirit," he said as he made a basket easily.

A voice interrupted into the conversation from the front door. "TEME! My new Jordans came in this morning! Do you wanna check it out?! Or do you—"he suddenly stopped, his eyes locked to the pink haired girl that had, from the looks of it, been talking to Sasuke just a few seconds ago before he interrupted. "Why the hell is Sakura-chan here?"—he gasped—"Noooo. She said YES?"

"No, you idiot!" yelled Sakura, feeling as if she needed to throw a rock at him.

At that moment, Sasuke's dog, Kuuro, quickly got out through the open doorway between Naruto's legs, seizing the opportunity. The foxy boy fell as he lost balance, landing on the hard floor. "Ow! Kuuro, you teme, that wasn't nice!" He whined at the dog.

Sakura laughed as the black lab approached her rapidly, tails wagging, and jumped at her. She quickly grabbed its paws, and held them with ease as the dog tried to lick her face. Sasuke patted the dog sharply, saying, "Kuuro, be nice. Sit."

Kuuro jumped away from Sakura and sat quickly, its tail still in motion.

"Aww, kawaii!" squealed Sakura, patting him.

"So," said Naruto as he got up, clutching his back. "Why are you here, Sakura-chan?"

"I'll tell you why I'm here, Naruto," said Sakura sarcastically. "I'm here to fuck Sasuke and partly to kill you."

"Oh! Do you wanna see my new Jordans?!" he asked excitedly. He looked at Sakura, then said, "Oh, and you could actually hold up Kuuro? Man, you _are_ strong—"he stopped as he saw a vein pop out of her head. She let go, saying "A.D.D.," and looked at her watch.

"Shannaro! I gotta go and meet Ino and the others, see you guys tomorrow—bye Kuuro"she turned around and ran to the street, and then jogged along the concrete surface.

"Why was she here again?" asked Naruto, patting Kuuro.

"She saw me coaching Konohamaru and the others this morning," replied Sasuke, his voice controlled.

"What did she say to you?"

"You don't need to know, dobe…"

* * *

She turned to a narrow alley, the ones that lead to the main street and the highway, also the ones that spooked her out often; Sakura wouldn't have taken this alley if she wasn't short on time, and it smelled bad, since the sewer system was flowing right under it. "Ugh." 

Sakura entered a not so populated street—she would have to walk a couple blocks to reach where her friends had decided to meet. She passed a wall with violent graffiti written across, and she looked around at the city buildings that were wrecked with age—she fastened her pace. She crossed an empty road with no cars passing by. She anticipated her steps in that she had talked to Sasuke without killing each other—Sakura suddenly froze.

A black Nissan GT-R glided slowly toward her, barely making a sound. It sent cold chills down Sakura's spine. She cursed and turned around, not wanting to have another stupid fights; she then turned around the other way, the café where her friends would be right now just being a block away.

A man, in a ripped leather jacket and destroyed jeans got out with a dirty blond girl around her age from the back seat, the former carrying a mini bat. She could see through the shadowy glass that there was a certain man smirking at her from the driver's seat, not getting out yet. Beside him was his brother, Kankuro, cracking his neck twice before he moved on to his hand.

"Get her," said Temari, smirking. "It's too late to run now, girl."

The man ran toward her, brandishing the bat dangerously. He swung the bat toward Sakura's head as she ducked just in time. Sakura grabbed the man's arm and punched the man's stomach with her fist.

"Fuck," said the man as he dropped the bat. He grabbed Sakura's hair and pushed her to the concrete surface. He kicked her in the ribs next, then another one, until Sakura grabbed his leg and quickly stood up as she sprained his foot. The man yelped as Sakura kicked him between the legs, and then crushed the man's neck with her elbow. He fainted.

Temari ran after her as Sakura tried to run the other way. Temari was faster, and just as she was about to catch up, Sakura suddenly stopped, sidestepped and put her leg out as Temari tripped on it and landing square in the face. She kicked Temari's neck but the latter grabbed it, lifting if up and pushing her against the wall. Temari made a fist and aimed at Sakura's head, the latter moving her head quickly to the side.

Temari cursed as her fist met the hard concrete wall. The pink haired girl performed a half spin as she grabbed Temari's neck and pushed it hard against the wall. The dirty blond yelped as Sakura repeated the move twice before pushing her down to the ground. She finished Temari with a kick to the neck.

Sakura looked around at the car—the two men were gone from the seats—and turned around quickly. Temari's brother, Kankuro, had observed the fight from behind as Gaara approached her from the side. Kankuro took out a dagger, flipping it in the air before catching it with his other hand. He smirked as he leaped at the girl, dagger pointing sharply at her.

Sakura grabbed his arm just in time, but Kankuro reacted quickly and brought down the weapon against her wrist, the blade going through the soft flesh. Sakura yelped and let go of his arm, clutching her own hand.

--

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Ino, looking through the glass window. "Is that a gang jumping a _girl?_"

"Where?" asked Tenten, standing up. "They're jumping a girl? That's low—"

"And the girl looks like Sakura!" Ino shouted, looking at the dark street beside the café. The people around their table stared at her, all of them interrupted by her yell. "And there's that red-headed guy that annoyed us a week ago at Konoha High—"

"Are you sure?" asked Hinata, having brought the drinks, and trying to wtiness what Ino was seeing. CLANK. Hinata dropped the drinks, the clatter collaborating with the loud music inside the café. Her pale eyes suddenly got wide, since her vision was very above average and could see that the girl was indeed their good friend Sakura.

"Oh my god! C-call Neji or something—"started Tenten—

"No, call Sasuke," said Ino. "Or the police, dammit!"

"We don't know Sasuke's number, you pig!" said Tenten, getting her cellphone.

"I-I do," said Hinata, getting her phone out quickly. "Neji told me just in case something happened"—she speed dialed Sasuke as the trio all got out through the side door and running toward the dark street.

--

Sakura's both arms had been cut badly, and she clutched an injury near her ribs as she blocked a kick from Kankuro. "Damn you!' Sakura shouted as she kneed him hard as Kankuro went down. "Damn all of you!" She picked up the boy by his collar and then pushed him hard against the wall and grabbed his neck. She brought his face to her raised knee. Kankuro coughed up blood as Sakura brought him back up and put him in a chokehold. She was pissed off. Pissed off that they were following her for some reason; pissed off that they fought and tortured other people for their own satisfaction.

She pushed his head against the wall, nearly breaking his skull. Then Sakura felt a tap behind her.

"Hey, Pink," said a voice behind her, a voice she had heard before. Sakura turned around rapidly as Gaara smirked, a satisfied glint in his eyes. He brought up a handgun, freezing her in the spot.

"Dodge this."

BANG! Sakura felt a sickening pain rise up from her left arm as she fell limply to the concrete ground. She saw three people running toward her on the other side of the street—and Gaara picking up Temari and Kankuro dragging the knocked out man in pain. They quickly got into the car before rushing past her—toward the other direction.

Sakura saw it all as a slow motion as the three other girls crossed the empty street, her eyes blurring rapidly as she fainted; as she entered a pure darkness, a black hole that she could not avoid falling into…

_**--**_

_**CURRENT time**_

Sasuke clutched his head, getting up from the stands of clothes he had fallen into. He got rid of the shades at the same time, walking toward the two girls he was supposed to protect. The pink haired girl gasped, seeing what she had done, and realizing who she had pushed just a few seconds ago. "S-sasuke?"

"Hn, I forgot that you could fight," said Sasuke, not really wanting to reveal his identity.

"Oh my god! Sasuke!?" said Ino, with wide eyes. "So that Naruto being in the building means that your whole gang is there too?"

"No time to explain," grunted the raven. He walked toward the elevator. When he saw that the two girls hadn't moved a step, he turned around, saying, "What are you doing? I gotta get to the SNS building, this is urgent—"

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" asked Sakura, still not believing what had happened. She looked at him from top to bottom, observing to see if it really was him. Sasuke sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Don't you get it, Momo? Your friend Yamanaka's dad hired us so we can protect his nuclear system from other gangs that want to control it. And we got to get rid of Sand quick, and I know you remember them, right?" He nudged his head toward the elevator, its doors already open. The girls slowly took a step toward him, Sakura still overwhelmed by his appearance.

"I'll explain later," muttered Sasuke as he lightly pushed them into the elevator, pushing B4 button to get to the parking lot.

* * *

**AN**: Why does Sasuke act like that when they first meet Sakura? I'll say that he was a bit spoiled because his parents are alive and he has all the need in life. And he just did that so he can satisfy himself. Since then Sakura talks back at him and that's why he was attracted to her. 

This chap kinda was rushed since I was busy these past weeks, so forgive me if my writing looks like it's losing its already tiny touch.

Next chap's more action. I'll try to make it short, this was kinda long. And yes Sakura got shot.


End file.
